The Vampire Diaries Standing Alone
by 12301980
Summary: Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline have graduated from High School. A new set of challenges arises that threatens to destroy their friendships and reconsider their alliances. Stefan, Elena, and Damon come to a breaking point. Good for Stelena/Delena/Klaroline
1. Chapter 1

EPILOGUE

_August 9, 2012_

_I fear that writing this at all will force the hand of fate to cause yet another plan to fail, even if said plan may be our very last chance to destroy what has plagued us for the past 18 months. But as you see, I am taking the chance for no other reason than keeping it inside of me is truly impossible. Caroline knows just enough to keep herself on her toes and not enough to put her in any danger. With Elena in Spain, and Damon being out of pocket for the past few days, the only person in town that I could possibly share it with is Bonnie. Bonnie Bennett, the last Bennett witch. While we share the same end goal, to destroy our enemy, I can still feel the disapproval in Bonnie's eyes when she looks at me. I am a vampire – she a witch; a true comradery we will never have. Besides, I don't want to involve Elena if I do not have to so that not only plays against telling Bonnie, but Matt and Alaric, as well.  
>Luckily, Caroline has a pawn in this game just as I do – she wants to save Tyler from his sire-bond and I need to save Elena from Klaus, in turn saving whomever Klaus has planned to attack with his hybrid army from facing an even greater force of numbers. And, as much as I hate to admit it, somehow in my mind I've found the belief that by my killing Klaus, I will make up for the numerous murders I've committed over the course of my life as a vampire. I don't know if it's true – if after finally putting an end to Klaus' reign of death that I'll actually feel less guilt for my transgressions – but I pray that I will at the very least gain the confidence necessary to face down the darkness that's within me, my endless thirst for human blood. I can't seem to commit to my diet, not since the summer I spent with Klaus searching for the beginnings of his hybrid army. I've tried everything that Lexi taught me, even gave a try to "moderation" at the hand of my brother, but I cannot drink only enough to survive.<br>Becoming a vampire has done more to me than make me strong, fast, and eternal, it also magnified a darkness that I had so easily ignored as a human. I can remember the quick, fleeting thoughts of killing someone that had angered me, or crossed my father or Damon, but it was never more than a flash of lightning in my otherwise calm demeanor. Stefan Salvatore, the smart brother, the one with a good head on his shoulders and an easy going personality - Not like Damon; quick to react, then think – a hot head even – that's what the fellow townspeople of Mystic Falls in the late 1800's said about we Salvatore brothers, If only they could see us now. Sure Damon was still a hot head, and nearly always reacts without considering the consequences… but I have become a true monster. I relish in the feeling of blood on my tongue and enjoy the shrill scream of my victims. How could such an evil part of a man be hidden so well for so long? And once it was revealed and allowed to take over, how can that man redeem himself? By killing the bigger monster, or so I hope. _

_I can hear Damon now – God only knows what he's been up to during his sabbatical away from Mystic Falls - nonetheless, he's the only person I can trust. The only person I know who would die for me…_

**Chapter 1**  
>The grass wasn't as green and the leaves on the trees no longer carried the shine of life, but other than that, nothing appeared to have changed in Mystic Falls since she'd left in late May. As Elena walked into The Grille, spotting Bonnie sitting at a two-top table with her focus on the cell phone she held in the lap of her crossed legs, Elena noted how their hometown hangout seemed to have been frozen in time. The low lit dining area was spotless and the same faces that were usually found enjoying lunch, a mid day drink, or a quick game of Saturday afternoon pool were sporadically placed around her – something comforting in the familiarity of it all. But then again, Elena thought, it had only been ten weeks since she had a 'bon voyage' luncheon with her high school friends. Bonnie hadn't changed much, though the furrowed brow she remembered Bonnie carrying much of the last two years of their high school career seemed to be softer. Her hair might have been a bit longer too, but as she closed the distance between them, Elena smiled and silently thanked God that her best friend was still as she remembered – still Bonnie.<p>

"Elena!" Bonnie's eyes grew wide and bright when she looked up from her phone. "You look so beautiful!" They pulled one another into an embrace. "Barcelona must have been good to you!"

Fighting back tears of joy, Elena seemed to hold onto Bonnie for longer than necessary. She was overwhelmed with happiness; happy to be home, happy to see Bonnie, happy to get back to a normal life with everyone… the thought weighed her down a bit. _Hopefully, everyone._

"It was so great, Bon, but I missed you! I'm so glad to see you!" They took their seats across from one another, their hands still intertwined – as if they had to hold onto each other for just a bit longer. "Talking to you on Facebook & a text here and there is just not the same as this, you know?"

Bonnie laughed – she completely understood. With the time difference between her dad's parent's house in Chicago and staying so busy learning a new city and remembering how to be normal again, keeping in contact with Elena, Caroline, Matt, and even Jeremy had been difficult. Bonnie wondered how much Jeremy had been in contact with his sister, deciding she needed to talk with Jeremy soon.

Bonnie slid her phone back into her pocket and sipped the coffee she'd ordered before Elena arrived. "I have got so much to tell you! However, I want to hear more about your trip! There were a few vague posts that I need A LOT more detail on, E"

Elena smiled shyly, knowing which posts Bonnie was referring to – the ones that mentioned the seemingly endless outings with Cruz. It'd been so long since she'd been able to laugh until she cried or dance until her body begged to rest; the previous two years of her life was filled with hurt and pain and incredible loss. Barcelona did for her exactly what she'd hoped a learning abroad summer semester would do – she was somehow lighter, more free, just generally more happy. A "time-out" from Mystic Falls, from what had become a nightmare thanks to Klaus, Rebekah, and the hybrids, from the Salvatore brothers, gave her back the life she'd lost during her junior year of high school – and the nights she spent exploring Spain with Cruz was a big part of that. She wasn't the same girl that was in the car the night her parents died, but she was closer to being that girl than she had been in a very long time.

"Bonnie! Elena!" Caroline called, quick stepping in a pair of high heel booties, arms extended ready to embrace them in a hug. As always, Caroline looked amazing; blond ringlets cascading down her shoulders and her ever-youthful creamy skin glowing beneath a Kelly green fitted sweater dress – for the smallest of moments, Elena forgot that Caroline was no longer the girl she grew up with, but a vampire. As much as she loved seeing Caroline, the heaviness that reminder carried was a bit painful. Reminding Elena of losing so many friends, of watching Stefan's fall from his grace and into the darkness that, though he'd overcome once again, seemed to have been lingering so close to the surface when she'd said goodbye to him the night of graduation. Like so many times, Elena had to force herself to not think of Stefan, to mentally push the thought of his grass green eyes and sculpted beautiful face to the furthest recesses of her mind. _Today is for Bonnie and Caroline; Stefan will have to wait a bit longer._

The three girls, still so young and naïve, yet more experienced than anyone in Mystic Falls could imagine, sat and talked, sipping coffee and laughing hysterically while they each poured over the details of the summer apart. Bonnie told of the dance classes and the art shows that she'd experienced in Chicago, of the urban life that she really fell in love with, and how she and her grandmother seemed to finally connect. Caroline talked of the bit of traveling she did with Klaus while Elena and Bonnie did their best to hide their disapproval of her newly formed friendship with the murderous vampire. Caroline could see it in their eyes, in the way Bonnie pursed her lips together when she said Klaus' name, but Bonnie and Elena could never understand Klaus the way that she did. They weren't vampires, they could not grasp the changes; how everything is suddenly more than it was, how everything becomes heightened and crisp – both the good and the bad – Klaus had been a terrible and vicious enemy, but he'd vowed to rehabilitate his wrong doings. Besides all of that, there was something in the way that Klaus spoke to Caroline, like no one ever had, that made Caroline believe that Klaus was good and kind, deep deep down, hidden beneath layers and layers of hurt and fear and evil thoughts.

"I still can't believe it." Elena sighed, crossing her arms. "You and Klaus?"

"Whoa." Caroline cut her eyes to Elena then back to Bonnie. "There is no Caroline and Klaus – not like that." She spoke sternly, hoping to convince her friends or something she wasn't completely sure she believed.

"Does Klaus know that?" Bonnie asked, somewhat sarcastically.

Caroline smiled, "Oh yes, he knows. I've told him numerous times. If he wants to show me the world, then fine, I'm all for that. But Klaus knows that I love Tyler and that I'm going to wait for him."

Something in her voice, just the lightest inflection of power, made Elena wonder if there was more to that story than she was letting on. "So, you're saying ZERO romance?" She leaned closer to Caroline, "after traveling through France, you never even kissed?"

Caroline's hooded eyes and illuminating smile answered the question without words as her memories of Paris and the French countryside played in her mind. Bonnie felt her stomach churn a bit. Caroline may have been a vampire, and Stefan too, but all in all Bonnie was still uneasy with the thought of vampires and werewolves… hybrids like Klaus especially, and to see the way Caroline was glowing with the thought of her travels with Klaus, Bonnie couldn't help but feel a little nauseated. When Caroline noticed the grim look upon her face, she tried her best to straighten up and hide her disgust.

"Oh come on Bonnie!" Caroline pleaded

"It's Klaus, Caroline" Elena's know it all voice seemed to hang in her ears. "Klaus… we just want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into, and who you're hurting in the end is Tyler."

Caroline had always been a bit of a hot head, a little bit of a drama queen if you will, and the heightened senses and personality traits that came with being a vampire made it quite difficult to control at times like these. "You're one to talk."

_Stefan. _ Elena's conscience whispered his name. She had hurt him by asking him to stay in Mystic Falls while she explored Spain. She'd hurt him by spending many nights so intimate with Cruz, but more than that, when he finds out about the weekend with Damon on the island of Palma, it would destroy him. Surely, Caroline did not know about that though. It hadn't been planned, and Elena had told no one of their kisses, their embraces, the way he held her body against his – both of them so relaxed and lost in one another. From the first time she'd met Damon, they'd only known each other in times of turmoil and distress, but the attraction had been there all along, playing in the background. Stefan had noticed it, but he trusted her with his entire being, never once concerned with the love he placed in her. Her affection for Damon only grew stronger while Stefan was away with Klaus. When he returned, Elena hid her ever growing love for Damon and rededicated herself to Stefan. He was all she could ever ask for, ever dream of – the love she had for Stefan was unbelievable, unreal, and unfathomable to those who have never experienced such a soul connection with another. But, for whatever reason, that irking longing for Damon never disappeared, and when he broke her request for space and showed up outside her foster home in Barcelona, Elena's will crumbled at the sight of his strong and graceful body leaned against the red sports car he'd rented. She'd missed Stefan and Damon so terribly while in Spain, and the sudden joy that filled her body when she saw his beautiful blue eyes took away her inhibitions and she stepped directly into his arms, their lips finding each other with ease.

"Elena broke up with Stefan before she left, so I don't think her dates with Cruz are the same as you're Klaus versus Tyler experiment." Bonnie said sharply. "Tyler is off torturing himself, trying to break away from Klaus while you're cuddling up to him in Paris doing God knows what."

"I agree, her relationship with Cruz was nothing to feel shameful about." Caroline cut her eyes to Elena when she said 'shameful'. "I noticed you left out some of your Spain adventures from Facebook."

Elena's lungs tightened and her eyes felt wet with tears. Somehow, Caroline knew.

"What are you talking about, Caroline? Elena?" Bonnie questioned, suddenly aware she was being left out of something. Caroline was staring down Elena, who looked hurt and pale now. "Elena?"

"Bonnie…" Elena swallowed hard, nervously wringing her hands together. "I didn't tell anyone. How do you even know about…"

Caroline cut her off, "You don't think he's told everyone, Elena? He feels like he's won." Caroline looked less angry as she spoke. The sight of Elena, her best friend, obviously hurting and regretting her time with Damon snapped her back into a more calm version of herself. "When Stefan came out to Paris he told.."

"Someone has got to fill me in!" Bonnie interrupted.

"Stefan knows?" Elena gasped, her hands covering her mouth and heart beat racing.

"Knows what? What happened?" Bonnie said loudly.

Caroline turned to her and said in a matter of fact tone, "Elena slept with Damon in Spain and Damon rushed back to Mystic Falls to let Stefan know."

"ELENA!" Bonnie couldn't believe it, both Elena and Caroline had become people she no longer recognized. Atleast Caroline had a reason behind it, though. Elena was just being stupid.

"It was a mistake." Elena cried, a few tears falling from her eyes as she wiped them away. Knowing that Stefan was aware of her weekend with Damon was so painful that she could barely breathe. "Are you sure Stefan knows?"

"Yes, he met up with Klaus and I in France. When Damon got back from Spain he was acting even more smug than usual, and when Stefan asked him what was up he was more than happy to share and I don't think he left much to the imagination." Caroline was annoyed by Damon and Bonnie had a strong hatred for vampires in general, but they both held a special place in their hearts for Stefan. Good, kind, and moral Stefan. Other than Caroline, Stefan was the only vampire Bonnie knew she could trust. Caroline loved Stefan like a mentor because he'd helped walk her through her transition into a vampire after Katherine had changed her as an evil way to get revenge.

When Elena left for Spain, Stefan was doing well, but his movement back to animal blood was still a bit iffy. The darkness that he suppressed for so long, but was forced to allow to take over when Klaus bargained Damon's life for Stefan's loyalty, had not yet been settled. It was so close to the surface that sometimes Elena felt as if she could see the evil lurking in his eyes. She silently prayed that her misstep with Damon had not broken the walls Stefan had worked so hard to rebuild around that part of himself.

"How was he? Have you seen him since?" Elena questioned Caroline with Bonnie's eyes burning into her skin.

Caroline shrugged, "He was really upset Elena."

"He didn't… he's not back to feeding…" Elena asked nearly breathlessly.

"Klaus tried, he wants Stefan to be like he was back when they hung out…" Caroline sat back in her chair, crossing her arms and legs in an effort to close out the thoughts of Klaus and Stefan roaring through the world, killing and drinking and being just plane evil. She'd never witnessed Stefan that way, but it wasn't hard to imagine… that kind of darkness seemed to linger a few steps behind him. "But no, not while he was with us at least. When I got back to Mystic Falls, I've seen him a few times, and he seems to be okay." Caroline decided to stop there, any more information about Stefan and how he was doing needed to come from Stefan, she decided. "You should go see him."

"I don't think he even knows I'm back." Elena relaxed a bit, so proud of Stefan for holding onto his humanity even though what she had done was most likely killing him. "He doesn't do the whole Facebook thing."

"Matt told him." Bonnie sighed. "I don't get it Elena. You either, Caroline. What has happened to you two? You're better than this."

Caroline and Elena sunk in their chairs a bit – Bonnie was right, they were both better than how they'd been acting – Caroline traipsing across to globe with Klaus using compulsion to get into the best hotels, the finest restaurants, taking the highest fashions from the nicest stores & Elena, playing with Cruz and Damon, when she planned to return to Stefan all along… now she wondered if he would even have her.

**Chapter 2**

Matt woke up late, but was able to get into his gym clothes and to the football field just as Stefan's classic Italian sports car pulled into a space.

"Hey man." Matt greeted Stefan with a handshake.

Their friendship may have started off as a competition for Elena's affections, but Stefan was the kind of guy that it was hard not to like. Once it was clear that Elena was choosing Stefan, that competition easily fell into a friendship. The summer without Elena and without any supernatural drama gave way to their bond growing even stronger.

"How was your run this morning?" Stefan asked with a smirk. He could tell by looking at his friend that Matt slept through his planned run.

"I hardly even rolled over… we were really busy last night and I didn't get home til nearly 2am." Matt stretched his legs as Stefan took off his sweat shirt & retied his shoes. They'd been meeting for mini football camps a couple times a week all summer. With college ball starting for Matt in less than a week, he was grateful for all of the tips and training he was able to get from Stefan. "But I made like $70 in tips, I'll take you out for a drink after. As a thank you."

"You're doing really well, Matt." Stefan assured Matt. "When you get on that field in Charlottesville, they're going to be thankful you're on their team."

"First game is September 1st, you and Elena should come out." Before he could stop himself, he'd already said the sentence. Immediately, he felt the tension in Stefan's body from 7 ft away. It was just hard to believe that Elena had actually cheated on anyone, much less on Stefan. Matt knew Elena better than anyone and how much she loved Stefan was obvious. "I mean… dude, I slipped, sorry."

Stefan was as still as a statue for a long moment, then turned to face Matt with a somehow false expression of indifference on his face. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"You know she came home today, you should go see her."

"Matt, the last thing I want to do is see her." Stefan lied. The only thing he could think of since Matt told him she was coming home was seeing her, holding her, kissing her. That had been over a week ago and the agony of his longing for her, and knowing that she had been with Damon – chose Damon - it was more painful than anything he'd experienced in his long life. "Let's just play some ball, ok?"

Matt tried again, he hated seeing Stefan, who'd become his best friend, hurting the way he was. Not to mention, that powerful and dark trait of him seemed to be creeping up. He could feel it when Stefan was struggling with that part of himself; as far as he knew, the only remedy for it was Elena. "Well," He tossed the football to Stefan, catching it with ease. "you should at least call her."

Stefan seemed to consider it for a moment, "Probably not going to happen." He smiled, though his eyes told of the pain he felt. "Go long."

I don't know what I've done.

How many times have I tried to call him, I've texted him. Asked if we could talk, told him I need to see him… I've been home for 24 hours and he's ignored me the whole time. Come to think of it, he ignored me in Spain too. I guess I had just assumed he was trying to play by the rules I set – no contact – how could I be so weak that I can't even follow my own rules?

Now I know he ignored my texts and phone calls because he knew the truth about Damon. Stefan must believe that I chose Damon over him, when that is not the case. Damon just happened to be there. While I was weak and naïve and childish, Damon was there. I love Damon, but it just doesn't compare to how I feel for Stefan.

I've laid here all night, trying to sleep, but only tossing and turning in my own misery. The picture of Stefan and I outside of school, just before the trouble began, is framed and next to my bed. I can't help but wonder if he'll ever put his arm around my shoulders like that again… so carefree and comfortable. How did I become another Katherine? How could I have let myself come between them like this?

I have to make things right.

The morning air of the Mid-August day was crisp and unusually cool for that time of year as it cut across Elena's bare thighs – suddenly regretting her choice of brown boots, a jean mini skirt, and a red long sleeved tee. The openness of The Salvatore Boarding House front lawn didn't help to dissuade the wind so she walked quickly to the front door, wondering if Stefan was aware that she there. Once at the large, wooden front door, she straightened her long dark chestnut hair and reached up to press the door bell, but the door swung open.

"Hello Elena." Stefan stood before for the first time in nearly 3 months. Something about him had changed. He was somehow stronger, bigger, a bit more dangerous looking. The green of his eyes was even greener and his body seemed to be more sculpted than before. Immediately, Elena's hands longed to touch him. Despite herself, she smiled.

"Stefan" her voice was nearly a sigh, relief rushing through her body. Until that exact moment, she hadn't realized just how much she had missed him, the love of her life.

"Damon's not here." His dry words cut into her. "But you're welcome to come in anyway." He moved back a bit to allow her to enter, but he stood close enough that her shoulder nearly rubbed against his chest as she walked in. For the first time, Elena felt intimidated by his presence.

"I'm not here to see Damon, I came to see you." He was more dangerous, she tensed with excitement, he was stronger, because he was angry. She'd never felt his anger directed toward her and for some reason it was making her want him badly. The butterflies in her stomach seemed to be going wild as she nervously contemplated how to begin.

"Oh, my apologies." Stefan walked in front of her into the den. "I'm losing track of your Salvatore brother schedule."

"Ok, I deserve that." Elena swallowed her pride and accepted his insulting words. "It's not what you think, Stefan. After all of this, all that we've been through, you have to know I love you." Elena pleaded.

Hearing her say she loved him both warmed him and harmed him at the same time. "How can you say that to me Elena? How can you say you love me when you slept with my brother… of all people, you slept with Damon."

"I can say it because it's true, Stefan. It's always going to be you, for me. You're it." She placed her hands on each side of his face and looked into his eyes – they burned with anger… and something else – _desire, hunger? _ "I love Damon, but you are my soulmate. It doesn't even compare."

For the slightest of moments, Elena thought she got through to him. That somehow he understood that she let the romance of Spain and wild free-ness she'd experienced while away from Mystic Falls and the supernatural drama get away with her. That her love for Damon was not the same, it was not a threat. But then, his hands took hers from his face and he looked down at her with tears filling his beautiful and soulful eyes. "Elena, I can't do this again." His breath was shaky as he continued. "I love you, you're the only thing that keeps me from losing myself but I can't trust you, and I can't let this happen. I can't let what destroyed Damon and I destroy us again." Stefan bit his lip to try and control the gentle quivering, to hold back the rush of tears that he could feel fighting to be released.

"Stefan, it won't" Elena reached for him again but he moved away from her, speaking volumes. "Are you serious? Maybe you just need some time?" Elena couldn't hold back her tears. "Stefan, you can't understand how sorry I am, please."

He shook his head, eyes on the floor. The tension radiating from his body seemed to envelope her, closing in on Elena and making it hard for her lungs to function. "It's for the best, Elena. You need to live your life like a human, and you can't do that while loving a vampire."

"Us breaking up isn't going to make me stop loving you."

"You're about to go to college, let it be a new start." Stefan couldn't look at her, he was fighting with himself, trying to keep from pulling her into his arms and kissing her like he'd wanted to from the moment she left for Spain. "I was going to stop by before I left tomorrow and tell you goodbye anyway."

Elena's lungs nearly froze "You're leaving?"

"I need to get out of here… it'll make it easier" Stefan took a long drink of the bourbon in the tumbler he'd been drinking from before Elena arrived. "With you and me like this, and Damon and I no longer on good terms, I need this too." Stefan leaned his weight onto the wooden table that held the glass bottles of alcohol, then looked up at Elena through his wet lashes, "there is nothing left for me in Mystic Falls."

Feeling as if the floor was swaying beneath her, Elena sat on the dark brown leather couch that faced the fireplace, her head in her hands and cheeks covered with warm tears. Though her attraction to Damon was immediate, all of this began while Stefan was under Klaus' compulsion… _that first kiss, the kiss that never should have happened, opened the door to this moment_. And now, Stefan was leaving her. It was over, they were done.Elena began to cry so hard that her body shook with each whimper. She couldn't imagine her life without Stefan, without her one true love by her side.

The sight of her in such a vulnerable position broke Stefan into even smaller pieces. His beautiful and selfless Elena was hurting so terribly that her body was no longer in control of itself. "Elena, please…" he couldn't complete his sentence, he couldn't ask her to leave, he had to hold her. When he knelt beside her they fell into one another's arms. With not a bit of space between their bodies, they quietly held one another, a wordless and painful goodbye.

**Chapter 3**

Jeremy: Hey. I miss you.

Bonnie: Come home early!

Jeremy: I can't, non refundable tickets…

Bonnie:

Jeremy: Another couple of days.

Bonnie: YAY

Bonnie: Have you told Elena yet?

Jeremy: No, u?

Bonnie sighed, no one was around to hear her aggravation, but she had to vent a bit. While Elena was doing her thing in Spain, Jeremy and Bonnie rekindled their relationship long distance. The base of their relationship had never really broken, and being able to talk to one another without the looming of a supernatural villain paved the way for the love they felt for one another now. Elena would be happy that they were back together, but how would she feel once she learned that Bonnie was going to go to the community college 10 miles away from Mystic Falls instead of the University of Virginia with Elena, Matt, and Caroline.

She didn't want to be away from him again. She would come to UoV eventually, but would wait another year for Jeremy to graduate. With all the supernatural happenings in Mystic Falls, it wasn't a good idea for Jeremy to be left alone, even if that did mean destroying the college plan she had with Elena and Caroline since 6th grade.

"Bonnie?" Elena called as she knocked on Bonnie's bedroom door. Before she came in the room, Bonnie could tell Elena had been crying.

"Oh my gosh, what's wrong?"

Elena sat on the edge of the bed, her body closed off and eyes red from crying. "Stefan, he…" The tears started again. "He broke up with me. He's leaving."

Even though she knew that Stefan would be upset with Elena, Bonnie never for a second thought that he would actually end things with her. Stefan was the most loyal of any person she'd ever known… _which is probably why he can't understand Elena being disloyal._

She didn't say _ I told you so _ or _What did you expect, _ instead, she just listened while Elena mourned for her relationship with Stefan.

"Have you talked with Damon?" Bonnie asked as Elena began to calm down. Even after two years of knowing what she knew – about witches and vampires and werewolves and originals, it was still strange to Bonnie to sit with her friends and have such common conversations about extraordinary circumstances.

She shook her head no, "Once, right after the weekend in Spain." Elena lay back on Bonnie's bed, feet still on the floor. She looked exhausted, Bonnie noticed, a complete 180 from their luncheon at the Grill yesterday. "I told him it was a mistake, that I loved Stefan. He didn't agree, said I'd see that he was better for me." Elena laughed unenthusiastically. "He thinks he's better for me, Stefan thinks they are both wrong… everyone has an opinion."

"Everyone loves you…" Bonnie tried, realizing that meant so many things. "I mean, we all want the best for you." Her words seemed loaded.

Elena sat up on her elbows, her dark hair a contrast on the lavender comforter of Bonnie's queen bed. "What do you think?"

Bonnie had an opinion, that was for sure, but the last thing that was the last thing that Elena needed to hear, another opinion. Bonnie couldn't help but believe that Stefan's actions were 100% genuine, and not done in a vengeful fashion, even though it could look that way to some. She was sure Damon would try to turn it into something of that nature and she had the chance to stop it. "Stefan is a vampire, yes. But he is a good, good guy. Just take what he's telling you on face value… it's too hard for him to relive the whole Katherine thing and he believes you should move on for your own sake."

"I can't believe that… he loves me, Bonnie. As much as I love him, so I know he can't mean that."

"So turn it around, if you truly believed that it would cause Stefan pain to be with you, would you want him to go ahead and put himself through it because you love him?" Elena seemed to get it, seemed to understand, "Sometimes, when you love someone like he loves you, you have to put yourself in the guillotine." Elena's dark eyes drifted into a daydream and appeared to be clouding with the thought.

They sat silently for a moment, the heaviness of the room broken by the chirping sound of Bonnie's cell phone

Jeremy: Hello?

Bonnie: I'm going to tell her, she's here now. I'll call u later. 3

Bonnie sat her phone down on the night stand by her bed, then looked at her friend, broken and saddened. "Elena, I need to tell you something."

Elena went home after she and Bonnie finished talking. Home had once been the happiest and most joyful place she could imagine. Filled with the love and life of her mom and dad, Jeremy, then Aunt Jena and Alaric. Now it was so cold and lonely, memories haunting through the empty spaces. In a few more days, she would leave this place and move into a dorm. Most of her classmates, now graduated, were probably a bit sad about leaving their childhood home, but her childhood home left her a long time ago.

Without looking around, she climbed the stairs to her room and collapsed in the oversized dark red chair in the corner of her bedroom, the suitcases from her trip still unpacked and on the floor. Spain… it seemed like a great idea at the time, and it was so much fun, but the way everything changed was almost too much to return to. Jeremy was coming back to Mystic Falls to be with Bonnie, Bonnie had dis-enrolled from UofV and registered for classes at a local community college in order to be with him, Caroline was in some sort of a triangle with Klaus and Tyler, Damon was laying low, and Stefan… well Stefan was starting his life anew. He hadn't said where he would go, but Elena figured it would be Italy.

They'd spent many nights in one another's embrace, planning out their future, always involving trips to Italy, a few years living off the Mediterranean, Stefan held a great love for his homeland, and if he couldn't be with his soul mate, she knew he would at least return to Italy.

_Italy…_

She grabbed her Iphone, googling "How far away is Italy from the US"

The search response made her heart physically hurt.

Stefan grabbed for his vibrating cell phone, the rattle of it against the wooden desk startling him out of his daze.

Elena: 4627

He stared at the text, not sure what those numbers meant. Wondering if maybe the text was not a message from Elena, but an accident.

Stefan: ?

Elena: That's how many miles apart we'll be.

Elena: How long will you stay in Italy?

_WOW_ he thought, she knew him well. His red eye flight from Virginia to JFK, then on to Rome was only 3 hours away.

The vision of his girl, of his brother… it was overwhelming. Then for her to not tell him about it, the betrayal of her dishonesty was tenfold more painful than her involvement with Damon. He knew she cared about his brother, and if she needed to explore that side of herself, he would've understood. But to ask for time alone, then hide her time with Damon, it was too much.

Stefan: I haven't thought that far in advance.

Elena: Rethink this. Stay with me.

Stefan read her message over and over until the letters began to blur and fade. How he wished he could forget all that happened in the last year. How he longed for the days before Klaus turned off his humanity. More than anything, he wanted to go to Elena, but Stefan's moral compass would not allow it – it took her being with Damon for him to come to terms with the truth – Elena deserved more than him.

Stefan: I love you.

Elena: I love you. Forgive me.

Stefan: I do forgive you. But it doesn't change the fact that you can't have the life you want with me.

Stefan: and I can't fight for you, not against Damon. He's my brother. We've been down that road and we know how it ends. Badly.

Elena: We can figure this out. I'll come with you.

All his dreams of sharing Italy with Elena rose to the front of his mind's eye. He'd wanted to guide her through the country, showing her the sights and smells and sounds that made him the man he is. It was going to be their retreat, now it would be his refuge.

Stefan: I'm leaving my phone, I don't want to be tempted to contact you.

Stefan: Just know, no matter what happens in your life, I will love you for the rest of my days. You are everything to me.

He stood, wiped the tears from his face as his eyes traced the letters of her name glowing from his phone, and then tossed his phone in the fire. Even the sight of her name made him ache for her. Stefan watched the plastic melt, tried to not think of Elena, knowing she was somewhere in tears.

"So dramatic, brother." Damon hissed as he made his way over to Stefan's bed. "You're looking exceptionally broody today."

"I'm not in the mood for this, Damon." Stefan ran his hands down his face, wiping away tears and hoping Damon hadn't noticed that he'd been crying.

"Going somewhere?" Damon asked, pushing Stefan's leather duffel bag with the toe of his boot. "Oh no, don't tell me you're going to college?" His voice sounded as if he was going to be ill. The thought of Stefan, once again trying to live a human life made him want to scream.

Stefan turned to face his brother. "No, I'm going out of town for a bit."

Damon shrugged his shoulders, "okay, I'm game. Where are we going?"

"Seriously?" Stefan grabbed his carryon bag that was filled with a couple bottles of rabbit blood, a book of Sonnets, a new John Green fiction and an Mp3 player that Caroline gave to him when he they'd said goodbye.

"What?" Damon questioned, then it hit him, stabbing him in the chest. Stefan was leaving to get away from him, from Elena, to let them run the course of their relationship without his interference. "This is just like you, Stefan."

"And, what's that?" He knew he shouldn't have, but he took the bait anyway, allowing Damon to run off at the mouth a bit.

"Stefan's so good, he's so moral…" Damon mocked, standing in order to look Stefan in the eye. "If you want her you'd better stick around and fight for her, brother."

Stefan wanted to take his challenge, yearned to fight for Elena, but once again his humanity stopped him from reacting in such a way. "I want her Damon, I love her."

"I love her too." Damon returned in a matter of fact tone

"But I don't want to fight. I don't want to fight you, you're my brother…" Damon loved and hated his brother at that moment. Of course, once again Stefan was sacrificing himself for the greater good.

"You can stop this shit any day, Stefan." Damon recoiled, feeling a bit shameful for all he'd done, but not wanting to show it. "I told you, I don't blame for Katherine, for me turning…"

Stefan slipped the bag over his shoulder then bent to pick up the leather duffle. He wasn't going to argue with his brother again – this was not a debate. When Damon returned from Spain and told him about his time with Elena, Stefan lost it. They punched each other and fought, ending with Stefan shoving Damon into the fireplace… nearly killing him. He wanted to kill him, at that moment Stefan wanted Damon to burn. When Damon's shirt caught fire and he watched as he quickly stripped it off before his skin was torched, Stefan realized that things would never be the same between them, once again, the love they had for the same girl was killing them.

"Goodbye, Damon."

"Stefan…" He called after his brother as Stefan walked toward the door, "…really? Come on!" Stefan didn't turn to look back, and Damon finally understood that Stefan may never come back to Mystic Falls.

Elena woke with a heavy body and a terrible pounding in her head. She'd been up late calling and sending text messages, had even drove to the Salvatore house but Stefan's car was gone. After an hour of hiding under her covers, hoping it had all been a bad dream, Elena tried Stefan again to no avail. She called Damon to see if he knew where Stefan was. Damon confirmed her fears, Stefan had already left for Italy. In typical Damon fashion, he was angry at his younger brother for doing the "right thing", but still tried to seem light hearted and even attempted to flirt a bit, inviting Elena over.

"What is wrong with you?" Elena scolded him. "Can't you be serious for a minute?"

Damon scoffed, "Oh what should I do Elena, sit in my bedroom and cry? He's a grown man, it's his decision… if he's giving up on you then you need to let him and see who is still here. I'm still here."

Damon was still there. Elena didn't know how she should feel about that. With Stefan deciding to remove himself from the picture, whatever might happen between her and Damon wouldn't have to secretive and ridden with guilt. She was free to feel for him any way she wanted. Any flirting was accepted, she could explore what it was about Damon that drew her to him. For a millisecond, Elena didn't feel so horrible, but then she realized, "but you'll never be Stefan."

Damon cringed; her words were as sharp as razor blades and Elena scolded herself for not filtering her thoughts better.

"Yea, good Ol' Stefan. I'll never be as good as Stefan, but I can guarantee you this, Elena," he nearly hissed her name, "I'm not as weak as Stefan either, and I will never leave you, for any reason. But…" Damon smirked, " I will hang up on you." *Click*

**Chapter 4**

"This is weird huh?" Caroline's voice broke the silence. She and Elena had the majority of the common area of their dorm room covered in books and sheets of paper, along with cans of diet coke and a few empty Starbucks coffee cups. Only two weeks into their first semester at the University of Virginia and they were swamped with homework. It was nothing like high school, where they both floated by so easily without much studying to be done. They were both taking a full load, only sharing one class together, but they'd found that setting a study time together helped to make sure that nothing would be distracting.

Their dorm room was small, but exactly what they'd hoped for. It was in the newest student living building which consisted of six floors of ten three-room apartments; 2 bedrooms and a common area with a small kitchen, and bathrooms at each end of the hallways that were always crowded, but it was a nice way to learn the faces of their neighbors. Damon used his powers of compulsion to score the best room on the fifth floor for Elena and Caroline – each bedroom had a great view of the library and surrounding civil war era buildings. As fall continued to move into Virginia, the foliage framed their view and made the sight even more serene.

Elena didn't look up from her Intro to Philosophy text, "What's weird?"

"Probably not the nicest thing I've ever said, but I just ran across a picture of the Salem witches in my history book and it made me miss Bonnie." Caroline laughed.

College was great so far; take away the fact that Caroline had not felt comfortable enough to work her way into the local hospital for blood bags and had to live on the Stefan-diet, and that Elena was terrible company due to the end of her relationship with Stefan, and Bonnie was back in Mystic Falls.

"What can we do? She wants to be with Jeremy." Elena sipped her coffee, wincing in surprise as the room temperature liquid crossed her tongue. "As sad as I am that she isn't with us, I'm still really happy for her and Jer… not to mention thankful that she's with him and will keep him safe."

"Safe from what? Things have calmed down for us." Caroline argued, "She should have come with us, like we'd always planned."

"Things are better," Elena conceded, "so long as I give my quarterly donations to Klaus." Elena said, frustrated with the truce that they'd worked out with Klaus.

Caroline smiled empathetically at her friend, knowing that Elena hated being a hybrid-making blood bag. "I can talk to Klaus for you, see if he can make it with less blood…" She tried, "Maybe take it down to like twice a year." Just the talk of human blood was causing Caroline's skin to fizz with excitement. She tried to ignore the craving, deciding to change the subject. "Oh did I tell you? Klaus wants to go visit Stefan over Thanksgiving break! Naples, here I come!"

Elena's body tensed as she straightened up on the gray loveseat, "You know where he's at? Naples?"

Caroline was sorry that she mentioned Stefan as soon as she saw the flicker of hope in Elena's chocolate brown eyes. Elena was still sad a lot of the time, but time, and probably even her _friendship _with Damon, seemed to be making it easier. It was only a couple hours ago that Caroline and Klaus agreed on their Thanksgiving trip and the conversation and excitement was still on Caroline's mind and it was the first thing to escape her lips... a bad segway from human blood, but the only thing she could think of through the haze of her craving.

"Well, yea…" Caroline wondered how she could get out of the conversational-corner she'd put herself in. "I mean, I called him about the whole drinking animal blood thing –"

Elena cut her off, that flicker of light in her eyes now turning to anger, "You have a phone number for Stefan and you didn't think to give it to me?"

"Elena…"

"Caroline!" Elena stood up, a few sheets of paper falling to the floor. "You know I've been dying here and you don't even tell me that you know where he is, much less that you have a phone number for him!"

"What did you want me to do? Just let you chase after him?" Caroline argued back, wishing she would have never mentioned his name. Keeping Elena from Stefan was for the best. "Besides, I thought you and Damon were some kind of an item now."

Elena nearly fell down. "Did you tell Stefan that?" Her voice was meek and quiet. Yes, she and Damon had been spending more time together, but the last thing Elena wanted was for Stefan to believe that his leaving was justified – that exactly what he thought would happen, that she and Damon would be together, was actually happening. They were just friends, Elena tried to convince everyone, but no one seemed to get it.

Caroline swallowed, knowing she could've been more on her game had she been drinking human blood. Her silence as she tried to think of a suitable answer had already told Elena that she had told Stefan.

"Caroline, I have to talk to him."

"Stefan doesn't… I mean he specifically asked me not to…" Caroline's tongue was getting tied up as she tried to worm through the mess she'd made. "Don't do this to him, Elena."

Elena's brow furrowed, "Do what to him?"

"Just let it be. Let him be." Caroline sighed, taking Elena's hand and gently squeezing. "I know you miss him, Elena. And he misses you, but you've got to give him some space. Let him figure things out… I mean he's barely hanging on to himself…"

"Is he okay?"

"He's not back to the old Stefan, but he's trying." Caroline smiled. "He's really trying, Elena. He just wants to be worthy of you again. And to do that, he has to get himself together."

Elena's eyes were wet with tears as she imagined Stefan struggling, trying to find himself again. After what she'd done to him, he still felt as though he wasn't good enough for her.

"I just want him to be okay." Elena spoke through her slowing falling tears.

Caroline stood and took her best friend in her arms. "Stefan will be okay, Elena. I promise."

After a moment, Caroline added, "In the meantime, I think you need to work out whatever you've got going on with Damon."

Like always, Caroline was not one to beat around the bush – especially when it came to boys. It may not have been the best timing, and it surely wasn't what Elena wanted to hear, but she needed to be told the truth sometimes, with blatant honesty. With Stefan, Damon, and even Matt, so much was padded or sugar coated in order keep Elena safe, or not hurt her feelings, or to keep her from worrying. Caroline had known Elena her whole life; Elena could handle the truth, she could handle anything.

Bonnie shifted in the driver's seat. Something about how the sun was shining into her car, the book on her lap, or how the seatbelt crossed her chest was making her uncomfortable. It'd been a rough day, but waiting outside of Mystic Falls High School made her long for her best friends and the life she was missing out on. Caroline was keeping her up to date on everything, including Elena and Damon & whatever she was doing with Klaus, but it wasn't the same as being able to experience it with them. Classes at the community college were going well, but for some reason walking onto the campus everyday made her feel second rate in some way. She'd worked so hard to get good grades in high school, throughout all that she'd been through in her Junior and Senior years, thanks to the Originals, yet here she was… going to a college she never wanted to go to and missing so much.

_Jeremy is worth it_

She loved Jeremy, and the time they'd spent away from each other while he was in Denver and she fought side by side with Stefan & Damon was the last time she ever wanted to be away from him. Though she wasn't the kind of girl that had dreamed of getting married and having children, it was something that had crossed her mind when she considered her future – Jeremy was always there. Even if she and Elena had started to grow apart, it had allowed her to grow closer to Jeremy, and to Caroline. Many times she'd wondered if that's how things were supposed to work; Did getting older and growing up mean moving away from your childhood friends in order to have a grown up relationship with a guy? Was it not possible to have both?

_Or is it the vampires fault? Had Stefan not shown up in Mystic Falls at all…_

Bonnie really cared for Stefan. She could see exactly why Elena fell for him, he was her type to a T. But, what could not be ignored was that he was a vampire. No matter how good he wanted to be, or how many times he did the right thing, Bonnie could not forget that. Being a witch meant that vampires were her enemy – there was no getting around it. So really, the moment Elena decided to be with Stefan – fully aware of what he was – that was the moment that she started to drift away from Bonnie.

After Stefan left town for Italy, she'd hoped that she and Elena could try to grow close again, but now it was Damon. How she hated Damon for all that he'd done. He'd hurt and killed so many… just for the pleasure of it most of the time. Not to mention Abby, her mother, now living her life as a vampire because of Damon, because of the vampires. How could Elena feel anything other than disgust for him? Bonnie felt as if she would never understand Elena's obsession with the Salvatore brothers… Damon especially.

Caroline didn't like it either – the amount of time Elena and Damon were spending together – but, she was more accepting of it either because she was a hopeless romantic or because she too was a vampire. _She must not remember how Damon planned on killing her the night she transitioned… or how Damon tried to kill her father… or when he broke Jeremy's neck…_

"Hey!" Jeremy opened the passenger side door, startling Bonnie. "I'm sorry!" He laughed

"You scared me half to death!" She breathed heavily, her hand on her chest as her heart pounded quickly.

Jeremy smiled and placed his hand on her bare knee. "It's ok, Bon…" He knew that the last two years had been very hard on Bonnie. She was always on edge, always scared that the other shoe was going to drop at any minute. "Everything's okay"

Bonnie looked at him, he wasn't the same Jeremy that grew up across from her best friends bedroom anymore. "I hope so."

"I know so."

"Still on the animal blood, then?" Rebekah asked, her playful smile could be heard through her tone of voice. It was no secret that she wanted to be with Stefan, but not this Stefan. The man she'd fallen for was still there, hidden beneath layers and layers of suffocating emotion, but she'd seen glimpses of him just last summer. As she watched him tear through veins and relish in the delight of the blood on his lips, her love for him grew by the minute. Once he got back on his diet of animal blood, that man – vivacious and dangerous and full of life and energy – was replaced with someone who hated everything about himself that Rebekah found intoxicating.

"Is Klaus there or are you just stalling?" He may have been trying to sound as if he was annoyed, but his time away from Elena would surely make him remember some of what he'd felt for Rebekah, she hoped.

"Stefan," He did kind of like the way that she said his name. "This is no quaint village on the coast… it's a very large home. Don't be hasty, darling."

"So he's there or no?"

"No, he's gone to see Caroline and that girl of yours…" Rebekah groaned, "What is it that you wanted with my brother? I thought you hated him… now here you are calling to chat him up and he's planning a trip to visit with you. Rather chummy these days?"

"I wouldn't say we were 'chummy'" Stefan laughed when he used her Brittish slang

"Then what is it? Not friends…. Business partners, then?" Rebekah laid back on the large leather ottoman in west wing sitting room, enjoying speaking to Stefan and hoping to hear some of the spark in his voice that she remembered from the old days.

"Why isn't he answering his cell phone?" Stefan asked. Calling Rebekah was not something he would have done could he have thought of any other way.

"Stefan, I have no idea." She was already getting tired of their conversation – if it wasn't about her, or about _them_, it was hard to keep her attention. "That Caroline must have his full attention, if you know what I mean."

"Ok, I'll just call Caroline then." Stefan said, his voice neutral even though his hands were in tight fists and his body hurt with rage. The thought of Klaus nonchalantly hanging around Elena…

_Calm down, don't give Rebekah any reason to second guess this friendship with Klaus _– Stefan thought as he exhaled slowly. "Are you coming out with him in November?"

A mini vacation with Stefan – that got Rebekah's attention. "Are you inviting me, Stefan Salvatore?" She teased with a laugh.

"Maybe, I mean, it would be nice to see you." Stefan prayed that she couldn't tell that he was lying over the phone like she could in person. They had been so close at one point in their lives, but like many other things he'd done in his past, Stefan couldn't believe he'd ever loved her. "Being out here without anyone I know can get kind of lonely."

"Well, how could I pass up such a kind invitation?" Stefan knew he had her by the cool and flirty tone of her voice.

He couldn't help it, a smile spread across his face and his eyes closed with relief. _Klaus and Rebekah in Italy together, two birds with one stone - three more weeks and this will all be over with._

Klaus walked towards the car that Caroline was waiting in, annoyed that she wouldn't come in with him and Elena – As a sign of solidarity with Elena and because she hadn't consumed human blood in over 2 months, she'd decided to wait for them in the car while Elena gave her 'fourth-quarter donation', as Damon called it.

_How can someone so hot be so evil? _Caroline wondered as her eyes followed him, his body emitting a swagger like no other man could. He was gorgeous, that was obvious, but his incredible amount of confidence was what made it so hard for Caroline to resist him. The deeper she got in this undercover game, the harder it was for her to avoid his advances. The jewelry, the trips, and the hotels – _that voice _– every moment they'd spent together would soon be exposed for what it was… but until then, Caroline thought, she'd have to keep it together for Stefan, for Elena… and most of all, for Tyler.

"Come now, sweetheart." Klaus leaned over into the car window, the scent of his Clive Christian cologne mixed perfectly with the aroma of the UofV hematology lab lingering on his clothes made Caroline's head spin in delight, "this diet is beginning to get a bit silly…"

She could tell by the brightness of his eyes that he'd made a meal of one of the student workers while waiting on Elena.

"Klaus, don't pressure me." She groaned. "If this is what I want, it's what I want…" Caroline wasn't sure if she wanted it or not, and it was definitely wasn't easier to live on animal blood, but she hadn't drank an ounce of human blood since the night Stefan left. Stefan was almost like a mentor to her, and if he was going to sacrifice himself for her best friends and Tyler, she could at least live in the same manor that he did. Luckily the cool air of November helped to ease the cravings.

"Yes, Darling – you do like to get it your way, don't you" Klaus placed a small, lingering kiss on her lips. Something about it, maybe the tenderness of his mouth upon hers or the residual blood from his victim made her ache with pleasure.

"Done. Now will you take me home?" Elena asked, breaking the tense stare held by Caroline and Klaus.

"You don't have the best timing, Elena." Klaus sighed. He'd been romancing Caroline for months now, and for a moment he'd felt as though he may had finally gotten under her skin. "Come on, get in. I'll take you home… Damon is probably calling out your name in despair as we speak."

Elena climbed in the back seat, rubbing the bandaged area of her left arm and hoping she wouldn't get light-headed from the loss of blood like she did the last time, the day before her trip to Spain. Looking back, she wondered if the sick stomach and spinning head might have been related more to telling Stefan that she didn't want him to come with her as they'd planned. It was supposed to be a last ditch effort to repair what they'd once had, but after watching Stefan and Damon fighting with one another over her, Elena decided to take herself out of the equation with hopes of repairing their sibling relationship.

"Oh, I nearly forgot." Klaus opened the console between the front seats once he pulled over in front of the Student center. The smell of whatever was being served for dinner was thick and heavy, causing Elena's stomach to churn, "This is for you…" Klaus handed her an envelope; her name with Klaus' address handwritten in black ink, and numerous red & blue stamps across the envelope. "All the way from Italy."

"Stefan sent this?" Elena asked, her lungs tightening a bit as she recognized the way he wrote her name. "Is he okay?"

"E-len-ahh…" He stretched out her name, "I don't know, just read it." Klaus faced forward, obviously through with her now that he'd taken her blood and fulfilled the favor for Stefan. "Now run along."

"Klaus, don't be mean." Caroline frowned, and then looked back at Elena who seemed mesmerized by the envelope in her hands. "Do you want me to come in with you while you read it?"

Elena considered it – if it was bad news, having Caroline around for support would be nice, but she knew that Caroline had been looking forward to seeing Klaus and going into Virginia Beach for the weekend. "No," She sighed, already aware of how much of a downer being around her had been since she and Stefan ended things, "I'll be fine. I mean, he already broke up with me, how much worse can it be?"

**CHAPTER 5**

The first page was obviously ripped from a printed book, vanilla colored crisp paper, with black type-font filling the empty spaces. Elena could smell Stefan's scent – leather & soap & the slightest amount of cologne – forcing her minds eye to replay the hundreds of kisses they'd shared over their romance, her nerves reacting to the way his hands would rest on her skin with a gentle touch, causing her taste buds to imagine the taste of his skin. Elena sat on her twin sized bed and began to read.

**Should've kissed you there, I should have held your face**

**I should have watched those eyes instead of run in place.**

**I should have called you out, said your name.**

**I should have turned around, I should have looked again.**

**But now I'm staring at the mess I've made, oh this mess I've made.**

**As you turn, you take your heart and walk away.**

**Should've held my ground, I could have been redeemed.**

**For every second chance that's changed it's mind on me.**

**I should have spoken up, proudly claimed**

**That my heads to blame for all my hearts mistakes.**

**But now I'm staring at the mess I've made, oh this mess I've made.**

**As you turn, you take your heart and walk away.**

**I'm staring at this mess, this mess that I have made**

**And its you, you that's falling down, it's you**

**And its on me now, this mess I've made, oh this mess I've made.**

She read it over and over, imagining Stefan holding the book it'd been torn from, reading it while feeling the same pain she was feeling – remembering the same memories that she was remembering. Wondering if her fingers were touching the same places his fingers had. She understood every word. He loved her, he was so sorry, but she got hurt in the process of his trying to be better, and he couldn't handle being responsible for her pain.

Elena,  
>I'm sorry that I haven't been in contact with you, and I apologize for leaving without a proper, face to face goodbye. I hope that you can understand that it would have killed me, literally made my lungs stop working, to have to walk away from you knowing it would be the last time I'd hold your face in my eyes. As you know, Caroline and I have kept in touch, and she's been kind enough to let me know how you are doing without too many details regarding your personal life.<br>When we last spoke, she told me that you were very upset that she and I were still in contact and that she didn't share my information with you. I'm writing for a couple of reasons, but one of those is to let you know that she kept those things from you at my request. I'm working on myself, I'm trying to become the kind of man that deserves your love. I don't know why, I truly cannot explain it – but it's easier to do if I'm alone and not under, what can sometimes feel like, a magnifying glass focused on Mystic falls. Maybe it's all the history I have in that town, or how every time I look at you all I can think of is how I have hurt you and brought so many terrible things into your life…. Either way, please don't blame Caroline, and please do not be upset with her. She loves you more than you can understand That brings me to the second thing I wanted to tell you. I'm usually pretty good with words, but I have such a hard time when it comes to explaining what I'm feeling for you, for Damon…. About you and Damon being together.

Damon and I haven't spoken, he compelled my number from Matt, but I don't answer and you know he doesn't do a lot of texting… I love him, I always will, but again, it's just too hard to know that I love someone so much but that I cannot trust them with the simplest of things. I'm sure Damon has told you that we haven't talked, but I wanted you to hear it from me that I am trying. I know you want Damon and I to be brothers again, but Elena I don't know if it's possible. I am trying… for you, I am trying.

Italy is beautiful. It's helpful to have such a wonderful place to surround me when I miss you to the point that I ache for you. Luckily, sometimes my days are easier when I am graced with your presence in a dream the night before. I can still see the glitter in your eyes and taste your lips. The only thing that my mind cannot recreate in exact replica is your laugh – I wonder if that is because our time together was spent in such turmoil that you did not laugh as much as you should have been able to…. Yet another thing for me to beg you to forgive me for. I spend a lot of time reading or spending time near the ocean. Did you know I love to surf? I wish I could've taught you… I took a job at the dock where I help to load and unload cargo. The immense amount of heavy lifting is helping me to curb my cravings and, more importantly, keeping me from breaking down and coming home to you.

Lastly, Elena, I need you to know that I want you to move on. I have met someone. Her name is Lindsey and she is a witch that lives in a nearby village. I knew her grandmother years ago, and when I went to visit her it was Lindsey living in her home instead. She's helping me through my withdrawl from human blood, and I cannot tell you that I haven't relapsed, but I am using every ounce of strength in my body to make it each day. Lindsey allows me to drink from her occasionally, each time I drink less blood and then wait longer between feedings. I've made it 26 days as of today, and though I am beginning to feel like my veins are made of sandpaper, Lindsey is pushing me to do a full thirty.

She is a good person, Elena. I cannot say that I love her, not like I love you, but being with her is easy, because I am not a threat to her in any way. I hope that me telling you this does not upset you… I felt as though you deserved to hear it from me. I have told you before and I meant it then just as I do now, I love you and will never stop loving you – but we have got to move on because you and I together means only pain and tears for us and our loved ones.

I hope that you move on from Damon; not because he is my brother or because I feel as though I lost you to him, but because you deserve so much more. More than any vampire could dream of giving you. No money can buy the kind of happiness that fulfilling your dreams of a family and having children will bring to you.

Listen to me – ha - sometimes I forget how young you are…. Sometimes I forget how old I am. If you are with Damon, I know he will keep you safe and will love you the best he can. Just please consider what you'd be giving up should you choose to stay with him, or wait for me.

Forever my love,

SS 

Damon checked his watch – 6:45pm _surely Klaus had finished with Elena by now, _he thought. Suddenly he began to worry about why she was not answering her phone; the fear of Klaus deciding that their suedo-truce was no longer satisfactory for him crept through his body, causing him to increase the speed of his walk up the stairs of Elena's apartment building. Moving quickly came so natural as a vampire, but holding back as to not draw too much attention seemed awkward to Damon. Coming to the top of the 5th set of stairs, he found a couple attractive girls studying just outside the stairwell, greeting them with a flirtatious smile. Though he was happy to admit that he was in love with Elena, he felt no need to play a game of monogamy with her – her heart still belonged to Stefan, and Damon had spent enough of his life waiting on a girl who loved his brother. Damon considered stopping to chat with them, maybe even use his power of compulsion to feed, but the faintest sound of a shaky breathing and heavy crying stole his attention away from the two blondes eagerly looking up at him.

He rushed by them, heading to Elena's room – the worst possible scenario's playing through his mind as he moved closer to her door – all the while the sound grew louder. "ELENA!" He yelled through the door, "ELENA!"

She did not answer. Damon reacted and shoved the door open, busting the lock and splintering the door frame, but he didn't care about the damage. Rushing through the common area and opening her bedroom door, Damon prepared himself to see Elena's body mangled, or bleeding, or may even find Klaus feeding from her neck.

Elena was on her knees, hands pressed against her face, sobbing so violently that her shoulders were convulsing in rhythm with the sound of her ragged breathing. "Elena, my God, what is it? Are you okay?" He questioned, rushing to her and pulling her off of the floor and into his arms. "Are you hurt?"

She just shook her head and pulled him closer to her body than she had since Spain. "No," She gasp, "I'm not hurt…" As they held each other, her crying slowed, eventually stopping all together, but she continued to hold him. Damon didn't mind, he could hold her like that for the rest of his life if she'd ask him to.

"Damon…" Her voice was so small and quiet, even with her mouth only centimeters from his ear. "Do you love me?"

"Yes, Elena… I thought you knew that by now." Damon replied in a whisper, the smell of her skin tempting him to kiss her slender neck.

Elena pulled away from him a bit in order to look into his eyes. She did know that he loved her, but she wanted to hear it. "Will you say it? Tell me that you love me?" Her eyes moved across his face, to his lips. He'd told her before – in the midst of an argument or just before something terrible was about to happen – but never like this, never alone in a quiet room, holding each other without a bit of guilt to be felt for what they were doing.

"Elena, I love you." Damon's mouth spoke the words that she asked him to say, but all Elena could hear was Stefan's voice saying "I've met someone." Damon looked at her face, she looked as though she had not heard him so he said it again just as her lips found his. For a moment, he didn't respond, shocked by her kiss. Elena moved away again, afraid that she'd been to forward, and looked up at him longingly. "I love you," He sighed, returning her kiss with a longer, more passionate one. He repeated it again as she wrapped her arms around his neck and his hands slid beneath her top and up her back. Elena kissed his neck, then moved back to his mouth, seducing him in a way he would have never expected from her. Deep down, Damon knew something was wrong – even assumed it had something to do with Stefan – but he didn't care. In that moment, she wanted him, Elena wanted Damon and there was nothing that would keep him from her. As he laid her on the bed, removing his shirt and taking her in his arms again, Damon considered asking her to say it back, but as he looked into her eyes with lashes still wet from crying, he decided that she was showing him that she loved him, even if she couldn't say it, and that would have to be enough.

As they made love, Damon could not stop himself from telling her over and over that he loved her, that she was incredibly beautiful, and that she was everything he could have dreamt of. Elena lost herself in his body, allowing the pain from Stefan's letter to be suffocated for awhile by the pleasure that Damon was giving her. Every time he said that he loved her, she reminded herself that Stefan had moved on, and loving Damon would be okay, it would feel right someday… hoping to replace her love for Stefan with love for Damon. And every time her heart told her it would never compare, she would kiss Damon again, silencing the truth.

"Yes yes, Stefan," Klaus was getting tired of the Elena questions, still unable to believe that this was the same Stefan he'd known 90 years ago. "I gave it to her."

Caroline sat next to him, her beautiful body glowing in the sunlight – it'd been so long since he really enjoyed looking at a woman without the expectation of their blood in his mouth that he'd almost forgot the sheer beauty of a woman. Caroline was far more beautiful than many of the women he'd fed upon, much more intoxicating than any other vampire he'd come across – she was exquisite. Watching her in her white bikini was making his conversation with Stefan about Elena even more dreadful than usual.

"What did she say?" Stefan asked, "Did she seem okay?"

"My God Stefan, I have no idea…" Klaus laughed, "I took my blood, gave her the letter, and left. Have you forgotten how much I despise that little doppleganger?" Klaus slid his arm around Caroline's bare stomach, pulling her back against him and grazing his lips across her sun warmed shoulder. "If it weren't for the fact that I liked you I would have compelled her into silence and stuck her in a cage for safe keeping."

Stefan rattled on about something more about Elena and Damon and more things that Klaus could care less about. While Stefan's voice drifted on, Klaus continued to kiss Caroline, moving his kisses to the nape of her neck, beginning to move his hand towards her panty line. Just as his fingers grazed the top of her bikini bottom, she stood quickly and gave a look that was supposed be one of irritation – Klaus could tell she was playing hard to get and her act was becoming less and less convincing. Feeling quite confident, Klaus returned her disapproving look with a smile and wink.

"Klaus?" Stefan called, "Klaus!"

"What Stefan?" Klaus responded finally, watching as Caroline laid down on the chair next his. He'd surprised her with a trip to Miami instead of Virginia beach then compelled the staff of the 5 star hotel to clear the private beach for them and they'd spent the entire morning drinking and lounging together. "Did I miss some awful detail about your heartbreak?"

Stefan gave a hollow laugh – though Klaus had learned to ignore all parts of his humanity nearly one thousand years ago, his soft spot for Stefan, for his brother in arms, hurt for his friends heartache – for a moment, Klaus felt sorry for him. "No, I was saying that you were right."

"Oh" Klaus smiled, "I'm not sure how I could have missed that, but go on"

"I've pretty much given up on trying to go back to animals…" Stefan's voice was tremulous, "It's been a few days now and I just can't seem to get my fill"

The thought of the times he'd spent with Stefan, pre-doppleganger Elena, filled Klaus with joy. "Is that so?"

"I've got some big plans for when you and Caroline get out here, so come hungry"

"Do tell, my friend." Excitement coursed through Klaus' veins. He'd badly wanted his old friend to come back to him – had imagined that Stefan would be able to pick up where they'd left off even after Klaus' compulsion was released – but when Stefan turned on him, it was as if Klaus had lost a brother.

"What kind of fun would that be? You'll just have to trust me… it's going to be epic."

Can it be possible that I am going crazy? I slept with Damon. I had sex with Damon, all the while I was trying to stop imagining Stefan's hands, Stefan's lips, Stefan's breath against my skin. Tried to stop hearing his voice. I can say it worked, but in the morning light, having Damon asleep in my bed does not change the way I miss Stefan.

His letter was so confusing. In one line he's telling me loves and he's aching for me… in the next he wants me to move on as he has. I sure I'm delusional but I just don't know if I buy it, that he's with her. Maybe that's why I feel so guilty this morning.

Ok, yes… I may have led Damon on, and for that I am sorry. However it is Stefan's reaction should he ever learn what has happened that I am most concerned about…

Lindsey… Lindsey… I don't know how I feel about this. Stefan obviously feels like I've moved on and I'm with Damon. But it still hurts me that he's with someone new. I know how selfish that is…. I see how possessive that is… but since the moment I met Stefan I was sure that we belonged to each other. I know how I feel about Damon and I know that my feelings lack in comparison to Stefan. What is eating me alive is that I don't know how he feels for Lindsey. He's drinking from her, she's trying to help rehabilitate him, but Stefan is my soul mate.

Damon turns in his sleep, taking her pillow and squeezing it against him – Elena notices how his face is so relaxed in his slumber, he's beautiful.

It doesn't matter. Stefan has chosen, and whether I'd planned it or not, I am with Damon now. Stefan was right when he said Damon would keep me safe and love me – I just hope I can love him in the way he deserves.

Elena closed her journal and set it on her bedside table, then slipped back into bed with Damon, happy with her commitment. Damon was a good man, reckless but good, and Elena smiled sleepily as she laid her head on his bicep and felt her body relax in his arms.

"Everything good?" Damon's voice was raspy with sleep.

Elena nodded in response as he pulled her closer to his body. It'd never been like this between them and Damon couldn't have imagined how content it felt to hold her like this. It had been so long since he'd experienced anything like it – not since Katherine – and he wondered if that was the reason he couldn't completely believe it. As a form of self-protection, Damon had learned to question all things from all people, and as much as he wanted to believe that Elena wanted him, something felt off. He watched as her brow relaxed and her breathing slowed and shallowed, the muscles of her body letting ago as she fell asleep in his arms. Her beauty was without question, and it sometimes took him by surprise how she could appear so innocent and untouched, yet still cause his blood to heat with desire for her. Gently kissing her hair, Damon sent a silent thank you into the universe, and prayed to a God he wasn't sure he even believed in anymore, asking for the strength to believe in her.

**CHAPTER 6**

Caroline stood quietly, listening to Klaus pick apart the art displayed on the cold gallery walls. He was more than she could have imagined when she agreed to help Stefan by leading him on and keeping close tabs on his movements and whereabouts. She often found herself in amazement of just how capable and intelligent he was, and even more surprising, a gentleman in all senses of the word. Sure, Klaus had tried a few advances, but a simple 'no' and he would cool off and back down – no pressure, no questions asked. In moments like these, when his eyes were alight with the joy he found in art, it was extremely difficult to remember that he was the enemy – _Klaus is the 'big bad wolf' of Mystic Falls._

"Come," Klaus commanded, taking her by the hand with a beaming smile upon his face that seemed to glitter with the overhead lights reflecting off his blond stubble. "I have to show you my favorite piece…"

Returning his smile, Caroline wondered what it was going to be like when she turns him over to Stefan. There was only a few days left – tomorrow Thanksgiving week would start and by Wednesday afternoon she would be finished with her mid-terms and preparing to board the flight to Italy. _When did Stefan plan on moving into action? How much longer would do I have with him before he learns that I've played him for the entire summer?_ – She wondered.

"It's beautiful, yes?" Klaus squeezed her hand, not noticing that she was lost in her thoughts.

Caroline nodded in agreement, looking towards the painting in front of them, without really taking in its various shades of golds, ambers, and yellows. Klaus moved a bit closer, inspecting the brush strokes in the abstract oil painting, still holding her hand in his. The expression on his face catching her eye. In this light, in this room filled with beauty, Klaus looked childlike. Caroline felt her heart flutter as she visually traced the gentle curve of his nose, his full lips that seemed to smile with such ease, the chestnut lashes that cradled his glittering aqua blue eyes… something deep within her tightened with anxiety. For a moment, Caroline was confused – unsure what it was that was causing her heart beat to quicken and her muscles to tense. "Its like the artist captured a ray of a summer mornings sunlight. That's why it's my favorite" Klaus' words were sincere, so full of honesty that they seemed to wrap Caroline in warmth. When she didn't respond, Klaus turned to look at her, "it reminds me of you…"

And with his words, she came to understand the emotion that seemed to absorb her entire being when she thought of Klaus' impending death – it was love.

"Darling?" Klaus cupped his free hand to her face as Caroline's eyes filled with heavy tears. "What is the matter?"

Caroline's mind fought with her heart, trying desperately to suppress her feelings for him, trying to remind herself of Tyler and the love she felt for him and how he was trying so hard to fight for her by breaking his sire-bond. Yet, looking into Klaus' concerned face and feeling the touch of his hand on her cheek, she knew it was no use, she'd fallen in love with the monster she was trying to kill.

"Have I done something?" Klaus questioned, his thumb grazing ever so lightly across her bottom lip.

Caroline nodded, and then wrapped her arms around his neck. "I hate you for this, Klaus."

"What?" He laughed uneasily, resting his hands on her waist. "You don't like the painting?"

"I love - it." She sighed, burying her face in his chest.

"Then what is it, sweetheart?"

Caroline swallowed hard, "You…" She felt the internal struggle tearing her apart as tears fell from her eyes and absorbed into Klaus' grey shirt. "You've tricked me into loving you and I hate you for it."

"Have I?" She could hear the smile in his voice, "You love me?" Klaus squeezed her tightly, and even though she hated herself for it, she felt so safe in his arms. "No one has ever loved me, Caroline."

Klaus' held her against him, the length of his body enveloping Caroline in a whirlwind of emotions. With lungs tightly squeezed with anxiety, Klaus smiled. It wasn't some sort of weird line, Caroline knew, Klaus had never truly been loved by anyone other than his siblings and even that was a dysfunctional love. His father had a deep rooted hate for Klaus, his mother cared for him but the dishonor that plagued her when she thought of Klaus, of the adulterous affair that led to Klaus' half vampire-half werewolf genes, it kept her from being able to love Klaus in the way a mother should love her son. Other than that, there had only been Tatiana, the original doppelganger, who played Klaus and Elijah against one another – much the way Katherine, and now Elena, have played between the Salvatore's.

"I know." Caroline sighed, silently cursing herself for losing all self control and allowing these feelings to develop in the first place. She pulled away from him and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against a bare white wall for support. "I know, and that's why I'm telling you how I feel." Caroline swallowed, hoping that Klaus wouldn't lose his mind at what she was about to say. "But you have to understand that I'm still with Tyler."

Fear crept through her nerve endings as she watched him turn into Klaus the big bad, his brow lowered and his eyes burnt with a clouded, dark emotion, his nostrils flaring slightly. Klaus took a breath, as if to speak, but instead he clenched his jaw and his stare smoldered through her – saying nothing.

Mentally, Caroline took hold of herself – _you've worked him for months now, you've got his._

With an exaggerated sigh, Caroline put her hands on her hips and looked at Klaus, displaying her best annoyed performance. "Oh jeez, Klaus… calm down."

After a long moment, Klaus shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his black jeans, breaking their stare and looking at the shiny cream tiled floor. Caroline felt terrible for scolding him; he wasn't mad, he was hurt. "As many similarities as I see between Stefan and I, this is not one of them, Caroline." His voice was quiet and it quivered a bit when he said her name. His mentioning Stefan reminded her once more that this would soon be over – whether she loved him or not. "I don't share what's mine."

Though her heart fluttered with joy at the thought of being his, she rolled her eyes mockingly. "I'm not yours Klaus, technically you've been trying to woo me away from Tyler… so you're more like Damon." She smiled knowingly; Klaus hated Damon.

"Ah sweetheart, it would appear that way…" Klaus strolled across the room – the short glimpse of hurt Klaus quickly replaced with the normal, cocky and handsome vampire - placing his hand above Caroline's head and leaning into her, "but I'm pretty sure I'm Stefan in this scenario, because I know I'm going to win out over that half-blood hybrid of yours."

She shivered with unease, "Elena is with Damon, Klaus."

"For now, but I'm Stefan because he's the right one for her, he's the best choice… the way he loves her is eternal" he whispered, leaning further into her personal space and placing his lips against her ear, "and a love like that never dies."

His voice trembled down her skin as her body reacted to the light cologne on his body and the warmth of his skin so close to hers. She could read between the lines, he may have been talking about Damon and Stefan and Elena, but the meaning of his words was something entirely different. Caroline bit her lip and looked up at him through her lashes, his steel blue eyes ablaze with desire for her and his lips slightly parted – _so sexy… just a few more days, Caroline, you can do this. _"We'll see about that."

"Are we making a wager on this then? Who'll win Elena's heart?" Klaus asked playfully, pulling away from her a bit as he brushed her blond hair away from her neck.

"mmmm" Caroline closed her eyes, relishing in his intimate touch. "If I win, you give me some time to figure all of this out."

"When I win," Klaus spoke confidently; his accent dancing into her ears, "you're mine..."His voice turned ominous with those two words and Caroline was suddenly concerned that she may have cracked the lid of Pandora's Box.

"Midterms…" Rory groaned as a greeting as she took a seat next to Elena. The week had been pretty rough, with two tests on Monday, one on Tuesday, and a test and a 15 page paper on relational cohesion due today, she'd hardly had any time to hang out with Caroline and Matt, much less see Damon.

It helped that he was staying at an apartment in the college district, but he didn't really understand that she needed to study. College and classes and homework were just not on Damon's radar. From what she knew about him from before he became a vampire, he didn't seem too interested in furthering his education then either. Elena loved going to class, being part of whole experience, gaining knowledge and learning to decipher and interoperate the information – she'd always been a bit of an over achiever, but she really wanted to do well and graduate with as close to a 4.0 as she could. So, even though Damon complained, she had to study and that meant he had to find something else to keep him busy.

Waiting on the professor to arrive, Elena found herself daydreaming a bit, thinking about how good things had been with Damon over the past few weeks. Sure, he was a little controlling, and it seemed that more than once he'd 'joked' about her becoming a vampire, too… but all in all, things were just easy and light hearted. They'd laid off having sex at her suggestion; Elena wanted to really give their relationship a try and in order for it to work for her, she would need to start at the beginning. Damon didn't seem to care for the idea, but didn't put up too much of a fight. Their only real argument was about how much time Elena spent on her school work and studying. He left her dorm in quite a huff just the night before after she had to sternly tell him that her priorities championed a high GPA and not learning how to day drink with him down at the Lucky Irishman Grille & Spirits – he's latest hang out. They knew him by name, and more than once, Elena noticed the young blond bartender favoring him over her other customers.

"He's got 5 minutes, and I'm outta here" She overheard a guy say from behind her. "You know, the 15 minute rule applies to the day before Thanksgiving break too."

"Yea, I've got a plane to catch. Just want to hurry up and fail this test and head out." Another joked.

"Are you going home?" Rory asked, she'd settled in and was flipping through her finished mid-term paper.

"Yea, my …." _What is Damon boyfriend? "_my, boy.." She stuttered over her words; boyfriend just didn't seem to fit, yet. "I'm riding home with a couple of friends. You?"

Rory started to respond, but was interrupted by the entrance of their professor "Put up all of your notes and books, it's time to get this mid-term over and done with!"

Damon: Text me when you're done, I'll swing by and get you from your dorm

Elena: What about Matt

Damon:…. Fine, him too. What time?

Elena smiled to herself, as much as he tried to act like he didn't care for Caroline and Matt and Bonnie, Elena knew different… atleast she hoped he cared for them.

Elena: 5ish – Matt has a late class. xo

Damon: CU then.

Smiling, Elena switched off her cell phone and slid it into her backpack. Once this class was over, she'd be free for the rest of the day, giving her a couple of hours to grab lunch and freshen up before their trip home.

Elena sat her pencil down, looking over the sporadically filled bubbles of her scantron; relief washing over her as she smiled with confidence. A loud sigh from Rory told her that she wasn't have quite as easy of a time, but then again, Elena had really studied for her midterms. More than once she'd seen Rory leaving campus this week, dressed for a college pub rather than hours in the library.

Standing to gather her things, Elena slung her red backpack on her shoulder and pulled her cell from it's from pocket and pressed the power button, knowing she'd probably missed a text or two from Damon and Caroline.

"All done." Elena chimed, placing her scantron on her professor's desk and handing him the clear-covered plastic report cover that held her paper.

"Have a nice weekend." Without looking up from his Wall Street Journal, Professor Carroll mumbled through his thick grey mustache, the yellowed hair around his upper lip a tell-tale sign of his nicotine addiction.

"Happy Thanksgiving" Elena smiled, then headed towards the exit, ready to spend her first long weekend away from school hanging out with Bonnie & Jeremy, and Damon. _Weird double date ahead _ Elena laughed to herself.

Sure, Jeremy had his neck broken by Damon once, and received a minor concussion from another encounter– and Bonnie had suffered numerous transgressions at Damon's hands, but Elena was confident that they would have a great weekend. _Damon has turned over a new leaf, he's not as… maniacal. He's much more calm, happier even. _Elena practiced her speech as she trekked across campus, the cool fall breeze kicking her hair up behind her. _He's much sweeter, and kinder… and we've been spending a lot of time together. Hanging out watching movies and talking and having … fun. In all actuality, Damon is starting to feel a bit boring._ Elena shook her head, trying to unthink what she'd said about Damon. But it was true, dark and intimidating Damon was always planning, scheming, looking for a thrill. Lately, Damon had settled into a rhythm with Elena – Walk her to class, meet her for dinner afterwards, hang out for a couple of hours, go home.  
><em>Never would I have imagined myself complaining about things not being exciting enough with Damon Salvatore. <em>Elena rolled her eyes at the thought of domesticated Damon Salvatore as she unlocked the door to her dorm.

"E-ley-nah" Klaus purred her name from the couch in the common room. His voice setting her nerves on edge before her eyes could even recognize him.

Her heart sank, Klaus waiting for her, with that look in his eyes, something was not right.

"Klaus." She responded as a greeting, hoping to present herself in a cool and calm manner.

_Maybe he's waiting for Caroline…_

"I've been waiting for you."  
><em>How does he do that? He always seems to know what I'm thinking.<em>

"Oh?" Elena smiled, dropping her bag next to the arm chair and standing behind it, consciously keeping the piece of furniture between them. "What's up? Damon's on his way to get me…" Her voice sounded a bit shaky, but she hoped that Klaus didn't catch the small sign of weakness, and that the mention of Damon's impending arrival, even thought it would be at least two more hours, might be enough to ward him off. "We're heading out of town."

Klaus gave her a thin smile and Elena wondered again just how in the world Caroline seemed to be warming up to him – he was the epitome of evil.

After a silent moment, Klaus stood "Oh good, then you've already got your bags packed."

STEFAN'S POV

Ominous, that just doesn't explain the aura of this place. There are ancient ruins surrounding me, holding more history in the stone pillars of the various temples than any book or text that could be held in my hands. Unconsciously, my hand reaches to touch the crumbling stone, the roughness against my fingers sending the equivalent of an electric shock up my arm and into my chest.

"It's no place for your kind." Lindsey scorns me, pushing my arm against my torso.

Her touch bothers me a bit, so I try to keep us on track. "Which one is Neptune?"

Lindsey looks at me with a bit of frustration in her deep brown eyes, I wasn't much good for company these last few days, with all of my plans coming so close to fruition; Klaus, Rebekah, and Caroline are expected late Thursday and would be landing, with Tomas and Ana, on Friday. "I'm sorry if I seem a bit short" She sighed, "but I'm very concerned about all of this, Stefan."

I purse my lips, again uncomfortable with how close she is standing to me and the way she looks up at me through her lashes. She is a beautiful girl, with perfect olive skin and a gentle curl in her long chestnut hair, but for so many reasons I know I am not able to return her hopes for romantic relationship.

"It's going to be fine," I grasp her small shoulder, the only place I can think of to touch her without sending the wrong message. "I don't have the best track record with my 'get Klaus' plans, but I never had this kind of help before." I smile confidently. I'm not lying, the help of Lindsey and her sister, and Cruz and his two friends, all witches, is making me feel quite confident about our plan.

Lindsey's face seems to relax a bit, she must agree with me that I have gathered a very strong offensive team. "This one is Hera, and that smaller one is the second Temple of Hera. Then there is Poseidon – with the flat roof… and down there," She stands on her tip toes, points to the largest of the ruins a few hundred yards away, "that is Neptune"

"Neptune…" I say so quietly, I'm not sure I even heard myself.

The power that these temples hold is almost tangible, to me at least. I'm not sure if the 10 or 15 tourists scattered around us can feel it, but it's radiating from the grass and the top soil, through the thick soles of my boots and up the muscles of my legs. I can only describe it as a tremor of force, almost like a magnetic pull, yet with a slight warmth. I'd like to say that my stiff lungs and urge to gasp for breath, somewhat like a drowning man, is due to my healthy fear of the powers of nature wielded by witchcraft, but I cannot shake the thought that this land is warning me to leave. I follow behind Lindsey, noticing that the wind is picking up by the way her red sun dress is blowing against her legs when I step on one of the many jagged edged white rocks erratically protruding from the stiff, dead grass of early winter, and lose my balance.

"Stefan." She turns to me, scolds me again, and a few of the tourists look over at me – I'm not sure if it was my stumble or Lindsey's reprimand that gets their attention, but I can feel myself break out into a cold sweat with their eyes on me and the indignant land urging me to retreat.

"Sega, sega…" I apologize in my best Italian, straightening myself and moving towards the Temple of Neptune with determined steps.

Lindsey catches up to me, breathing a bit quicker and I'm hoping that she's not as nervous as I am. "It's dated 460BCE. Neptune is the most well-preserved Temple of Paestum" She continues to give me a history lesson on the Temple as we close the distance and my body does it's best to halt itself. My neck muscles are straining, my chest heavy and making it harder for lungs to expand, the hair on my arms is standing on end, and my eyes are watering from a slight burn. "Are you okay?" Lindsey asks, stepping in front of me to stop my unwavering march.

"What? Why?" I gasp, again I can't seem to get enough oxygen. Lindsey doesn't answer me, just gives me a look of disbelief. "I can feel it, Lindsey." I say quietly, my eyes darting around for signs of an eavesdropper. "Whatever the history of this place, it's not happy with me being here…"

"You don't think Klaus is going to notice the foreboding vibe?"

"Not if I can get him drunk enough that he doesn't feel much of anything…" I shove my fists into the pockets of my leather jacket. "Now, show me so I can get the hell out of here."

Lindsey looks me up and down, as if she's checking me for defects or signs of failure, then with a loud huff "Ok, come on and don't touch anything."

Damon sat in his car, phone in hand, shaking his leg nervously. He needed a drink, bourbon or blood, either would suffice, and the endless waiting for Elena and Matt was beginning to rub him the wrong way. After the second unanswered, and not yet returned call, He'd decided not to try again – _I may be willing to give up everything about me to be with her, but I'm not going to appear whipped AND desperate. _But now that it was good and dark, the old-world styled street lamps glowing at full power, Damon began to feel more worried than angry.

Damon: Where are you?

_Maybe she forgot the plans, or her phone. I bet her phone died and she doesn't even know I'm down here._

Damon waited until the Whitesnake song finished playing, allowing Elena a minute or two to respond, then switched off the ignition of his Camero. As he gracefully climbed out of the low sitting classic car, he heard Matt call for him.

"Oh man, thank God y'all haven't left yet," He was wearing a pair of sweats and a blue hoodie, and his face was covered in beads of sweat. "I ran all the way over here." Damon looked at him for a long moment, pushing away the thought of getting the drink he'd been craving. "Elena would've killed me…" Matt sighed, bending over and resting his hands on his knees. _Yea, me too_, Damon smirked to himself at the passing thought of feeding on Matt.

"Did it take you extra long to read your test questions?" Damon jabbed

Matt huffed, sucking in a big breath of air then blowing it out and O shaped mouth with a grimace on his face. "Ha," he scoffed, "coach called a quick practice. Which was basically a sprinting session. These side stitches are killing me." Matt grabbed at his side. "I sent Elena a text, but she never responded so I wasn't sure if you guys would wait."

Damon's eyebrows raised, "You haven't talked to her? Did you see her at all today?"

Matt shook his head no.

_No need to freak out, Damon. She's upstairs waiting on you, her phone is dead. _ Damon told himself, taking off in a steady pace into the building, trying not to seem overly concerned as Matt followed. _Klaus and Caroline are probably in Italy by now, Rebekah is with them, and that accounts for Stefan._ Damon pressed the 5 button on the elevator, knowing that Matt wouldn't be able to handle the stairs in his exasperated condition. _So that leaves… Katherine. Where has she been? I wonder what she'll say when she finds out that I got the girl…_

The elevator stopped on the third floor and a short, red haired, human got on and pressed the 4 button – Damon rolled his eyes at yet another interruption. _Damon Salvatore won the girl, sort of. We aren't really doing a whole lot more than we did before, but we have, and we will. Katherine will go ape shit! _

The elevator stopped at four to let the red-headed hobbit off. _I can't wait to tell Katherine. I should give her a call, a little Mystic Falls update. But then again, I'd like to see the expression on her face…_ Damon smirked to himself, thinking about Katherine's dark chocolate eyes widening with jealousy. Before the elevator doors opened to the fifth floor, his thoughts had drifted across the NC17 limits.

"Hmm, I see you two have been left to find your own entertainment." Rebekah's pouty lips curled over her words, snapping Damon out of his daydream. "How about a drink?"

"Ugh, I can't say I blame him, surely Klaus doesn't need his little sister playing tag while he's trying to put his thousand year old vampire moves on Caroline." Damon jabbed as he stepped out of the elevator and towards Elena's room.

"Looks Elena felt the same about having you around?" Damon stopped and turned towards Rebekah, standing in the elevator entrance, resting her hand against the frame. "How does it feel to know she's going to spend the weekend with Stefan?"

Damon felt his body fill with rage, all the while his heart ached with pain and jealousy. "What are you saying?

Rebekah tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I'm saying Elena went with Klaus and Caroline. Looks like the little doppleganger chose the better Salvatore brother after all."

**CHAPTER 7**

Caroline was moving quickly, rummaging through bags and bags of clothes, trying to find something for Elena to wear. She'd had a major argument with Klaus, hiccup number one on their plan, about him kidnapping Elena and bringing her along for their Italy trip, hiccup number two. Stefan was going to freak out, and may even cancel the whole thing all together. She knew the moment she semi-agreed to the bet with Klaus in the Boston art gallery that something was going to go wrong because of it. Now here they were, in a rented steel grey limousine, ie taken via compulsion, rushing down Corso Vittorio Emanuele with Elena finally beginning to show some signs of life. All in order for Klaus to get Stefan and Elena back together, in his mind sealing the deal between himself and Caroline. Little did he know, so long as Stefan didn't back out, he wouldn't be around to find out. So, in order to stay on track and, hopefully, show Stefan that this could be done even with Elena in the mix, Caroline was going to bring Elena along to the first point of contact – a club in downtown Naples where Stefan had planned to start the weekend of binging on music, blood, and most importantly, strong liquor – Just a weekend get away for a few friends, not a diabolical plan four months in the making!

Caroline saw Elena's eyes begin to flicker open and made a quick evaluation of her – her hair needed brushing and she looked pretty groggy, but like usual, Elena was naturally pretty so it wouldn't take too much work to get her ready. Klaus had provided plenty of euro for Caroline to pick up a couple of things for her, and she'd spent the last few hours shopping while Elena slept off whatever drug Klaus used to knock her out.

"What's going on? Where are we… Caroline?" Elena was still a bit dizzy and her words were slightly slurred, but her adrenaline was beginning to wake her. "Who's limousine is this?" Caroline tossed a dark garment her way without looking up or acknowledging Elena's questions. "Caroline!"

"Elena you've got to just shut up and let me think okay, just be quiet." Caroline spoke quickly in a tone of voice that told Elena that she was feeling a bit frantic. "Just let me… here!" Caroline tossed a pair of red heels into Elena's lap. "Get dressed."

"What? NO." Elena looked around, wondering how she'd got here and where _here_ was. The limo was moving and through the heavily tinted windows Elena could see other cars as they passed them… the limousine was driving very fast and the strange street lamps blurred by quickly. "Tell me what's going on!" Elena demanded

Caroline groaned with impatience, "We're in Naples. Klaus drugged you or something and brought you here, Stefan is going to kill Klaus... er neutralize, or whatever" She wished that she could have been more friendly about it, but Stefan was with Klaus and they couldn't have been more than a few minutes away from Akab Cave. _Suiting that a bunch of vampires were meeting at a trance club built in a cave in Italy_, Caroline thought to herself as she grabbed her make up bag and turned to begin working on Elena, mentally preparing herself for what was sure to be an eventful evening.

At first, Elena's senses numbed – the bass, the electronic music, the sheer blackness of the space abruptly interrupted with flashing stage lights of various shades of red and purple – but as her eyes began to adjust she could see that the vast space was wall to wall with a pulsating group of people. They seemed to all move in flow with the heavy beat that hit so hard it slightly distorted her vision with every drop. They moved together, clapped in synch with the track, and Elena instantly felt abuzz with energy. She'd never been in a club like this and the energy crept up her legs and radiated in her chest, filling her with adrenaline and excitement.  
>Caroline yelled "Follow me!" but her voice was swallowed by the music and Elena only picked up what she said by reading her lips. Caroline took Elena's hand and began to snake through the crowd. Elena couldn't help but allow her body to move to the music a bit – it was as if the room, the crowd, and the music was taking her over. The crowd was so thick that the people seemed faceless; a deep mixture of entangled bodies alive in the moment and the almost tangible music that surged through them. Elena wanted to stop right in the middle of the mob, join them, allow herself to be swallowed by the sheer volume of it all. When Caroline stopped at the edge of the crowd, Elena's eyes were still watching everyone on the floor and she bumped into her. Laughing, Elena turned to apologize to Caroline when her eyes fell upon the face of the man she had tried so hard to forget.<p>

Stefan was sitting at a raised table, his arm around Klaus's shoulder as he leaned over the table a bit – speaking to Klaus, and two other guys Elena had never seen before. Klaus saw Caroline and Elena and stood, offering his hand to Caroline to help her up the three steps that led to their VIP table and off of the dance floor. Stefan seemed to have finished his sentence and looked over at Caroline, and then Elena, his bright and beautiful smile spread across his Roman-style face. The moment his eyes landed on Elena, his smile faded into something else, something Elena couldn't quite read.

He was exquisite, she thought. In this environment, with the beats drumming in her lungs, just looking at him in his black leather jacket and gray vneck shirt made muscles deep in her torso tighten. Klaus pulled Stefan closer, grasping his shoulders roughly – like the way brothers would - and said something in his ear while gesturing towards Elena – the ever changing lights casting the two vampires in shades of red, blue, purple, and green. Caroline made her way up the stairs and took a seat between one of the unknowns and Klaus, but Elena was frozen in Stefan's gaze.

The music seemed to start to skip, each misread accentuated with a deep bass beat, then – just as Stefan stood, pulling off his jacket – it picked back up, but this time the music was grungier, almost dirty, with an intensity that Elena couldn't quite describe, except that it fit how she felt at that moment exactly. A woman's voice moaned in and out of volume in what Elena figured was Italian. Stefan brought his glass to his mouth, taking in the remaining amount of amber liquid, all the while he seemed to be evaluating Elena – starting with her face, down her body, across her legs and back up again. His eyes made her feel small, her temperature rising with each passing second. Self-consciously, Elena's hands moved to smooth her clothing, tugging at the black lace fabric of the tank top Caroline let her borrow.  
><em>Why did I let her talk me into this ridiculous outfit? <em> Elena questioned, wondering what Stefan thought of the layered red tank peeking through the black lace & plunging deep v top. She'd never dressed so scandalous before and was fearful that Stefan would think that she was trying too hard with the black mini and sky high red heels.

Stepping down, Stefan stood inches from Elena's body, looking down at her as she gazed up at him. The slightest movement from either of them and their lips would have touched. His eyes smiled at her even though his face was blank. Elena couldn't keep from looking at his lips – slightly wet from his drink and the lights of the club accentuating their shape. Her mouth began to water for his kiss.

Stefan slid his fingers between hers and stepped into the crowd. Once out of sight from Klaus and the others, Stefan stopped and pulled Elena against him, wrapping an arm around her back and pressing her torso against his. They began to move, slowly finding a steady sensual rhythm with the pulsating bass.

The way Stefan moved, the electric response her skin gave as his hands slid across her back, hips, thighs, even the slight part of his lips told Elena that he wanted her, and try as she might, she could not ignore that she wanted him as well. Stefan moved behind her, pressing his body against her swaying hips. Elena closed her eyes and leaned into him. When she felt his breath against her ear, then the warm wetness of his mouth below her ear lobe, her body trembled. Never had she felt more alive and aroused. As he kissed her skin, Stefan moved his hand to her chin and tilted her face towards him. For a moment, Elena expected to feel him kiss her mouth, but when it didn't happen, she opened her eyes.

Being so close to him, she was able to figure out the expression he'd had on his face when he saw her standing in the crowd – fear. Holding her so close, she could see it more clearly now; his brow somewhat furrowed and green eyes slightly widened.

"Everyone you see here is a vampire, Elena." Stefan said into her ear.

Elena felt Stefan's hand slide around her waist, grabbing her hip and turning her to face him, her hands landing on his chest. He leaned into her – to all others it was if he was kissing her neck and caressing her body, but Elena could feel his tense muscles and knew that this erotic show was for looks and to get close enough to her to warn her. "When did you last have vervain?"

Elena swallowed hard, still thrown off by the intensity of the way he was holding her, and now terrified by the fact that she was the only human in a room full of intoxicated and adrenaline filled vampires. She had no idea how long she'd been unconscious. She quickly tried to do the math in her head. _I had vervained tea on Tuesday afternoon, none before I saw Klaus on Wednesday. A flight from the US to Italy was what, like 10 hours… then additional travel time to and from the airport?_ "A couple of days I guess…"

"I need it to look like you're my human. Like I brought you here. Like you belong to me, okay?" Stefan pulled back to look into her eyes, his hand touching her face and thumb grazing her bottom lip. Elena knew that this kind of PDA was out of Stefan's character, but she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't this good of an actor. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, the touches, the kisses, the sexual tension – it was all real.

Elena wrapped her arms around his neck lightly, then slid her body down his, running her hands down to the waist of his dark jeans, then stood again as she slid the tips of her fingers behind his belt buckle. "I am yours."

Stefan swallowed hard. Elena was incredibly sexy and after not being with her, or even seeing her, in so long, her every move seemed to intoxicate him. She seemed much more like a woman that when he'd left for Italy only a few months earlier. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her, leave with her, take her back to his home and make love to her… but he couldn't. Not now. He wasn't sure what Klaus was up to by brining Elena along – maybe he was just trying to be a good friend, "A gift from back home" just like he said when he gestured towards Elena and Caroline… - or maybe he was suspicious and wanted to have Elena near as collateral. If Klaus wanted proof that Stefan had changed… let go of his "doppelganger fantasy" as Klaus put it, and was all in, Stefan would be sure to give it to him. This was not the time to go easy or half way, in just over 48 hours Klaus would no longer be a threat and there wasn't much that was going to get in Stefan's way. He had to admit though, putting on this show for Elena's protection wasn't the worst thing he'd ever done, yet he knew his heart would pay for it once it was all over and she found her way back to Damon.

Stefan put his hands around Elena's face, kissing the corner of her mouth gently while his eyes flew across the vampires crowded around them, wondering how long it would be before they realized a human was in their midst_. A beautiful human – with warm, red, citrus flavored blood_, Stefan shook the thought from his head. Even if the other vampires hadn't smelt her yet, being so close to her body, his mouth inches from her veins, Stefan's thoughts were muddled with making love to her and the taste of her blood on his tongue. It was impossible for him to want anyone or anything more than he did at that moment – the instinctual, erotic need that her body could fulfill & the guttural, sensual craving her blood would satisfy.

Elena leaned into him, flicking her tongue across his bottom lip – if he wanted the room to know she belonged to him, she would convince them, Elena decided. She followed the beat with her hips, turning her body into his, running her hands across his muscular chest and strong arms. Stefan was having trouble concentrating as she danced against him – fighting off his urges, but when he turned his head from her, trying to regain his sensibility, he could see Klaus. He was standing with Caroline dancing in front of him, his eyes burning into Stefan, evaluating.

Stefan protectively moved between Elena and Klaus' gaze – he would need to step it up in order to keep Klaus from second guessing their renewed friendship. Grabbing her arm, Stefan shoved Elena against a concrete pillar that held up the roof. His body pinned her against it and he stopped just short of kissing her. Elena had never been with Stefan, or anyone else in such a submissive way. She liked it. She liked having Stefan pulling her and grabbing her and pinning her. With anyone else, it would have been a turn off, scary even, but with Stefan it was just rough enough not to hurt and just dangerous enough to be naughty. "Klaus is watching." He groaned into her ear as she nuzzled into the curve of his neck.

Elena ran her hand across the back of his head, his short hair slipping between her fingers. "Am I not being convincing enough?" she teased with a smile

Stefan couldn't help but return her smile.

"It's not you…" Stefan swallowed, conflicting emotions rumbling through him – he wasn't convincing enough. While he was very much in tune with his human desires for Elena, what the others in the club would be looking for, what would convince them that she was his property and not to be messed with, would be for him to allow his vampire cravings take over. It was so easy, effortless – holding her so closely and the sound of her heart beating quickly with desire for him, Stefan's eyes began to turn and fangs protruded from his gums. "I'm going to have to feed from you."

Elena stiffened in his arms. She knew very well how Stefan turned into a different man, a different type of being, when he ingested human blood. "No, Stefan…" _He won't be able to stop_, he would go too far… Elena tried to move from his embrace, but he was holding her tightly. It had been so long since she'd seen his face like this and it was terrifying. The grass green eyes that she could stare into for hours were gone, replaced with the deep blood red eyes of a predator. The way his lips twitched to pull back over his razor sharp fangs, ready to rip into her skin – it was no longer Stefan pressing himself against her, but the ripper who'd killed so many, ripping their bodies into pieces as he filled himself with their blood. "Stefan, don't do this."

"Elena…" he sighed, leaning into her, grazing the tips of his fangs against her neck. "I have to." His voice was sultry and seducing, deep and penetrating. She wasn't sure if he felt he had to as a way of claiming her as his property, to satisfy whatever Klaus was looking for, or if he had to because he couldn't help himself. Elena pushed against his chest as hard as she could, using all of her strength to get away from him, but it didn't seem to move him at all. "Stop fighting." Stefan groaned into her ear as he placed grabbed at the back of her hair, pulling her head back and tilting it to the side in order to open her neck to his mouth. The way she was trying to fight him off did nothing to help him keep control, if anything, it made his mouth beg for her blood even more.

"Please Stefan, please don't!" She cried, unable to move under his body. Her whimper seemed to snap him out of a trance and when he moved back a bit to look at her, Elena freed her hand and pushed his face away. Without knowing his own strength, Stefan grabbed her wrist hard and held her arm against the wall.

"Elena, I'm not going to hurt you!" He growled at her. Looking into her frightened eyes, Stefan felt his humanity fighting to come to the surface. "In my left pocket is a vervain needle I was going to use on Klaus – get it." Stefan released her arm and gently cradled her face, trying to keep up the rouse. "If you start to feel like you're going to pass out, use it on me." His eyes begged for her trust.

Elena looked at his face for a moment, trying desperately to find her Stefan beneath the predators' eyes and blood thirsty fangs. "Elena, I can do this. Please, trust me." Stefan had no choice. He could still feel Klaus looking at them and had noticed a couple of the vampires around them turning their attention towards Elena – picking up her racing heart and scent of her blood. After a long moment, he felt her hand slip into his pocket, a silent way of giving him permission. The thrill of knowing he would have her blood raged through him and his throat tightened with anticipation. They're eyes still locked with one anothers, Stefan's full of hunger and Elena on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry." He said with a small smile, then moved to her neck and opened his mouth, stopping for a moment, with his fangs pressing against her skin. It was the most painful pleasure he'd ever felt. He didn't want to hurt her, not again. Yet, deep down this was his true nature, and he could not deny it. He truly felt as though he had no choice. Yet he was enjoying, relishing in Elena's racing heartbeat and soft, salty skin against his tongue. Slowly, he bit down, penetrating her neck and her warm, flavorful blood spilled into his mouth and Elena flinched in his embrace. The taste was unique and delicious and, unlike when Klaus compelled him, this time he could enjoy it, savor the flavors of citrus and iron. Stefan swallowed her blood, and his body reacted immediately with a slight tremor. Stefan sucked the liquid into his mouth again, filling his cheeks and taking a large swallow.

Elena felt her legs begin to weaken just as Stefan took a third long and slow pull from her neck, "Stefan, stop…" She sighed. Stefan swallowed and pulled away from her, head down and eyes on the two small, bleeding holes he'd created. He was breathing hard, Elena noticed, watching his chest rise and fall. Elena relaxed, _it wasn't that bad_, she thought, _and Stefan didn't seem to have trouble stopping._

"I can't…" Stefan growled, moving against her again. "I want.." He spoke breathlessly. Elena wanted to scream, but knew that drawing the attention of the vampire crowd would do her more harm than good. Stefan hesitated at her neck, kissing and licking at a couple of drops that ran down her collar bone.

Elena took hold of his face, ready to beg him to stop, try to remind him that he didn't want to hurt her, but when he turned to face her she was met with his sultry green eyes and straight teeth – no fangs or hint of blood. Elena's brow furrowed with confusion. Stefan pushed her hair back from her face rested his forehead on hers – the tips of their noses nearly grazing. "I want you so badly, Elena."

With his dark cravings fulfilled, his mind was barraged with the thought of her body entangled with his. Thrown off guard a bit, Elena's face blushed with the realization that he was not putting on a show, he wanted her. He moved to kiss her, but stopped just short "…I can't do this."

"Stefan, it's okay." Elena smiled, cupping his face. "I want this… I love –" Stefan moved away and took off toward the exit, pulling her by the hand.

The fresh air hit her like a splash of cold water. Stefan let go of her hand once they had a bit of distance from the clubs entrance, crossing his arms over his chest. After so long together, going through so much, Elena knew this was how he was closed himself off. "Stefan?" She asked, reaching for him – he stepped back.

"Elena, you aren't mine… not anymore." Stefan's voice was low and filled with hurt.

"I am yours." Elena said sternly. "I get to decide this, Stefan. Not you." She tried to stand taller, in some hope of making herself look more serious, more powerful. "I love you and you love me and I won't let you deny that!"

"You're right, I love you Elena. I've tried and I've tried but above all else the only thing that I know is that I love you." Stefan's voice began to raise as he spoke. "Do you know how painful this is? To love someone like I love you?"

"Painful," She laughed sarcastically. "I've watched you nearly kill yourself, nearly killed me! I've been there while you struggled with your past and with your addiction! Yes, I know Stefan, I know!"

"No, no… you don't have any idea how much I love you…" Stefan's voice was raw, hiding nothing.

"What do you mean?" She tried, but failed, to keep her voice down. "I love –"

"You chose him!" Stefan locked his eyes on her, his face contorting with anger or pain, she couldn't tell which. "Elena, you chose Damon." Stefan stepped away from her, ran both hands through his hair, and without looking up at her for fear seeing her would break him, he added, "How can you say you love me when you love Damon?"

Until that moment, Elena hadn't really understood just how much it hurt Stefan to know she cared for Damon. It took a few seconds for her pain to develop a response, and even then, it wasn't a very good one. "I don't…" Elena couldn't lie to him, she did love Damon. "I don't know." She paused. "I love him different, I guess."

"Elena, don't you see… If you felt for me the way I love you, you wouldn't have been able to fall in love with Damon, at all." His words cut at her. It sounded logical, but Elena knew it wasn't true. It was almost like there were two of her, one that loved each of the Salvatore brothers. "There is no one that I would choose over you. I would bleed myself dry if you asked me to, Elena. So maybe you don't know, but I do… you can love him, because you don't love me."

Tears began to swell in Elena's eyes. "That's not true" She said weakly, her vision blurring with the wetness clinging to her lashes.

Stefan lowered the volume of his voice to nearly a whisper, as if he was talking himself through it. "It is. And I don't blame you, Elena. I blame myself. How could you love me? I'm a monster…" Stefan ran his hands roughly across his face in an effort to keep his tears in check. "You don't love me like I love you because I'm not worthy of that kind of love."

As Caroline and Klaus came out of the club, Stefan turned away from Elena, trying to get himself together before Klaus saw him in such a weak way. "Stefan…"

"Elena! What?" Stefan growled at her, just as Klaus and Caroline came up to them. "Why did you bring her?" He turned to Klaus.

"I thought you'd want to see her." Klaus gave a friendly smile, holding Caroline's hand to his chest. "Didn't want you to feel like a third wheel."

"Take her home, Caroline." Stefan commanded, cutting his eyes at Elena. "She's more trouble than she's worth."

Caroline scowled at Stefan, but Elena knew what he was doing – he was protecting her from Klaus and whatever angle he may have been playing.

Stefan took off with Klaus following behind him, leaving Elena in tears.

CAROLINE's POV

Slipping my red pea coat over Elena's shoulders, I couldn't help but notice the marks on her neck and a bit of drying residual blood. I nearly lost my mind with anger, and a little envy even – it had been months since I had human blood.

"He bit you?" I screamed, much louder than I should have.

Immediately, I looked around in case someone heard my outburst. Luckily, most of the patrons along the cobblestone street were either too inebriated to care or were vampires and it wasn't anything new to hear. Elena didn't answer, instead she gently touched her hand to her mouth. Her fingers were shaking ever so slightly, so I decided it best to talk with her about that in the morning and just get her back to Stefan's.

"Come on, Elena." I gave my best 'everything's cool' smile and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. Klaus must have called for the driver because we didn't get thirty yards from the club before the limousine pulled up to the curb next to us. Elena looked at me as if she were in shock.

I loved living like this, I had to admit. Spending all afternoon shopping in the best boutiques, being carted around in an amazing limo, and yes, even being seen with the most powerful and most feared vampire. It didn't hurt that he was very easy on the eyes. Elena, on the other hand, seemed like she felt out of place. Come to think of it, she was.

I slipped in first, then Elena. She pretty much collapsed on the light grey leather bench seat. For a moment I worried that Stefan may have taken too much blood, but then I heard a small whimper escape her and I knew she was crying.

"Seriously?" I sighed. "We're in Naples, Italy! We're both single, sort of." I scooted over to her and laid my head on her shoulder. "What happened?"

Elena swallowed hard, wiping her face with the backs of her hands. "I don't know. I let myself get all wrapped up in that… that show. I believed for a minute that Stefan and I were going to be okay."

I raised my eyebrows and sat up to look at her. "What show? I saw the way he was holding you, the way he looked at you. Elena he is still head over heels for you. That's why Klaus brought you. He wants you and Stefan to get back together."

I proceeded to explain to Elena about our bet, leaving out the fact that I was falling in love with Klaus – her arch enemy. I told her about how Stefan had gathered an army of witches and, though I was short on details for my own safety, by the end of the weekend Klaus would no longer be a concern. She sat quietly and listened as I explained how Stefan had asked me to befriend Klaus all in the name of 'keeping your enemies closer'. "I really think he's going to do it, Elena." I smiled, though internally I was aching at the thought of losing Klaus forever. It's for the greater good, I told myself.

I'd just finished my spill when the limousine pulled up to Stefan's rented condo – all of the lights were off and I couldn't help but wonder if he and Klaus were out vamping it up at some poor human's expense.

"Is this Klaus'?" Elena took in the modern structure in front of her with a slightly opened mouth. It was too dark to see that the ocean was only a hundred yards or so in front of the glass and steel building, but I could hear and smell it with ease.

"Stefan's." I corrected her, grabbing at my cell to retrieve the text he'd sent me earlier in the day with the security code to get in.

Elena's brow furrowed and she pursed her lips, crossing her arms across her chest. "This... just doesn't seem right. It doesn't seem like Stefan, at all.'

I took Elena by the hand, not letting her fold in on herself like she does when she's upset. "Try to remember, Stefan isn't really being Elena's Stefan right now… it's all a means to an end."

**CHAPTER 8**

Elena woke to the smell of coffee brewing. Sitting up in the king sized bed in one of the many guest rooms of Stefan's condo, she considered laying back down, at least until dawn, but she could tell that she wouldn't be getting any more sleep. Her body was awake, her mind alert –_no use putting it off._ The room was large, decorated in shades of white and cream, with touches of blue for accent. Everything seemed so cold and modern, nothing at all like she would have expected Stefan's home away from home to be. The exterior walls were all glass, and she could see that the beach ran right up to the condo, the town to the north. On the white wood and brass desk sat her suitcase packed for her weekend in Mystic Falls. For the first time since she'd woke in the limo with Caroline Damon crossed her mind. She wondered if Klaus had hurt him, or if he even knew where she was. Bonnie and Jeremy, and Matt would be frantic. Standing, Elena's legs wobbled a bit and she unconsciously touched the bite on her neck. It was already nearly healed, but her body was obviously still recovering from the blood loss. She'd had nothing to drink last night, and her stomach was completely empty of food – the smell of coffee causing it to rumble with anticipation.

She pulled off the red tank top and tossed it on top of the black lace one that she'd left in the floor before she fell asleep. After putting on a fitted white tee shirt and her navy blue University of Virginia shorts - the kind you rolled down at the waist to show the orange UofV logo on the waistband– she applied a bit of coconut lime lotion to her legs and arms, ran a brush through her hair, and checked her face in the mirror hanging over the desk, making sure she'd removed all of Caroline's make up job.

Walking into the kitchen, she couldn't help but relax as her eyes examined the stunning view from the kitchen island. There was blue-black water for as far as she could see, the horizon only highlighted by the deepest shade of amethyst created by the sun hovering below the earth's sphere. If only for the view, Stefan living here made a bit more sense.

"Good morning." Stefan's voice was quiet and still a little raw from sleep. She turned quickly, surprised by his presence, and caught a glimpse of his bare, herculean stomach as he pulled on a dark green ski thermal. His jeans were unbuttoned at the top and his hair looked as if he'd just dried it with a towel – Elena's mouth watered at the sight of him. "Coffee?"

"Yes, I'm starving." She tried, but failed to pull her eyes from his body. The way his pants hung from his hips, it was almost indecent.

Stefan opened a cabinet door above the coffee machine, removed two large mugs, and filled each. "I'd make you something, but I'm headed out." He turned, placing a mug in front of Elena, then sipping at his own, his eyes were bright and, Elena noticed, somewhat playful. She wondered what he did after he left with Klaus.

"Headed out?" Elena questioned, grasping the ceramic mug with two hands and allowing it to warm her hands and arms, taking a seat on one of the six barstools surrounding the outer edge of the isle. Stefan casually leaned against it, his eyes taking her in.

"Work." The mention of his job reminded Elena of his letter, of his job at the docks, of his girlfriend, Lindsey. "But there's some food in the fridge, and just up the street is a great pastry place." He nodded to the west. Elena looked away as she wondered where Lindsey was while they sat together in his kitchen, so casual and comfortable with one another, even after everything they'd been through. "Did Klaus let your bring anything? Clothes? Phone?"

"I have my suitcase from when I packed for Mystic Falls… no phone."

Stefan reached in his pocket, then sat his cell phone and his debit card on the granite counter top. They looked at each other for a long moment, neither of them ready to bring the awkwardness back into their relationship, but there wasn't much choice in trying to avoid it. "I'll be back around two. Take my card and go get whatever you need, anything you want."Stefan was all business, not like last night when his vale fell and Elena was able to see the real Stefan. He bent to slip on his boots, then stood again, buttoning his jeans and heading toward the large formal foyer, " You should call Damon."

DAMON's POV

Walk of shame. That's a very fitting name for this. I'm barely awake, starving, and I'm doing my level best not to lose my cool with Barbie Klaus. Now that I've slept with her for the umpteenth time, I should probably stop calling her that. Not that I have some sort of relationship with her, I just don't like the connection. And no matter how many times she asks, I am not staying the night in Klaus' disgusting excuse for a home… mausoleum maybe.

As I start my classic Camero, giving it a moment to warm up while it billows white smoke into the Virginia night before heading back to the boarding house, I notice my phone is blinking. Two missed calls from Stefan, and a text message. Wonder what that bastard wants…

I consider ignoring it. Not bothering with his apologies and self loathing, but change my mind as it might make me feel better to call him up and give him a piece of my mind.

Stefan: This is Elena, I'm using Stefan's phone. Please call.

Hmph. My girlfriend, using my little brothers phone to call me from Italy, where she is spending the weekend with him. Yea. I'm going to call you right now.

I toss the phone into the passenger seat, decide that the old v8 has warmed enough and throw it into gear, leaving rubber on the immaculate concrete of Klaus' driveway, and Nirvana blasting through the cold dark air.

Just as I hit hwy 636, the glow of my phone catches my eye again. Fueled by driving too fast and the hard hit of 'In Bloom', I throw on the breaks and fishtail to a stop on the shoulder. Grabbing the phone and turning down the radio. "WHAT?"

It takes her a moment, then she says my name. "Damon." Why do I let her do this to me? In nearly 200 years there have been only two people who have been able to play me like a puppet – Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce. "Are you okay?" She asks, her voice quiet as if she's trying to hide that she's talking to me.

"Why are you whispering? Afraid Stefan will hear you chatting up your second choice?" I regret it as soon as I say it, but I don't care anymore. If she's gone back to him, then she is making a conscious decision after having experienced both Salvatore brothers – again, much like Katherine.

"No, what are you talking about? He gave me his phone to call you. I just wanted to make sure Klaus didn't hurt you or Matt."

"What do you mean?" Elena was quiet for a moment too long, "Did he hurt you?" The beginnings of my often felt rage bubbling just below my skin. I ball my hand in a fist.

"No. I'm okay." She whispered a bit quieter – someone must be near. "Caroline and Stefan are with me, too. When I woke up I was with her and she told me that Klaus drugged me." My throat is literally on fire. I need blood. I need to kill something. I have to rip into someone's flesh right now. I punch the steering wheel, wishing it was Klaus. "But I'm fine now. I promise." When I don't respond, Elena continues. "Caroline and I will be home early Monday, er late Sunday for Virginia I guess."

"I'm coming to get you." I don't ask, I've never needed anyone's permission to do a damn thing.

Elena sighs, but I think I hear relief in her voice. "Damon, please – just stay in the states. Stef-" She stops herself, "Caroline will keep me safe, you know that."

Stefan. Stefan will keep her safe, and he'll keep her laughing and he'll keep her happy, and if she happens to be lonely he'll keep her company, if she's cold I'm sure he'd be glad to warm her up. "No, I'm coming. I'll be on the next flight out."

I can hear her squirming and I wonder if she wants me to stay in the states so she can have her romantic Italian getaway.

"Damon, you're going to have to listen to me. Just once. Do. Not. Come."

It takes a minute, but I think I hear her trying to be cryptic. "Is something going on?"

She stays quiet – that's my answer. What in God's name is Stefan up to? "If Stefan's up to no good, why did he want you there?"

"He didn't – it was Klaus. Stefan had no idea. Neither did Caroline." Elena was whispering again. "Please, just stay there. I'll call you when I can, okay?

It takes every ounce of me to agree to not come to Italy and get her, but in the end, I do. I'm giving Stefan the benefit of the doubt… he'd better not cross me.

I start the car again when I hear Elena's phone disconnect, and for a moment I think that if I were in Stefan's place – in Italy, alone with the girl I am in love with, I'd use it and I'd make every possible play for her. But then again, Stefan and I are nothing alike, are we?

ELENA's POV

All I can see is red, muted red. When I open my eyes, I realize that I'd fallen asleep under the warmth of the sun while laying out with Caroline on the large concrete overlook from Stefan's condo. I check my arms for a sunburn – they are very warm, but not red, yet. Caroline bought a yellow bikini for me and a green one for her, and we've been out here for most of the morning. By the way the sun is sitting in the sky, I figure it must be close to noon, but I'm not sure since I'm not used to Italy time.

I glance around and see Klaus is on a hammock, beneath a large umbrella and reading a book. It hits me that he is a lot like Stefan in that sense – always preferring a book versus a myriad of other things to do. The longer I know Klaus, the more I understand the strange friendship he and Stefan shared. Caroline is laying next to me on her stomach, the top of her bikini untied. Between the two of them is an outdoor bar with three large, empty glass decanters and I wonder who did the majority of the drinking, Klaus or Caroline. Between Caroline's lounger and mine, she has a plastic cup with a straw and I can see the reminisce of the red liquid it holds through its white sides and decide that it's Klaus who is drinking the alcohol. Oddly, the sight reminds me that I am hungry for human food and I stand to go to the kitchen.

"Everything okay?" Klaus asks, he sounds oddly concerned.

I nod, tell them I'm hungry and go through the glass door headed for the kitchen when Stefan's phone rings from the large cherry wood sofa table. I wonder if it might be Damon, or someone from home calling to check in on me, so I grab it and fall back into the over-stuffed cream colored couch that looks out to the right of the balcony, over the white beach and beautiful water.

LINDSEY MAGIA

I see her caller ID picture before I read the name and she is stunning. When I see her name, I'm sickened by just how stunning she is. She's got an Angelina Jolie look about her – full, pouty lips to boot. What did I think, that Stefan would pair up with someone a bit more homely? He's the closest thing to a Greek God that I've ever seen, he should be with nothing less than a heart-stopping woman.

I consider answering it, as if I have some right to Stefan and she should answer to me. I ignore my need for vengeance on this girl, but I can't get myself to sit the phone back down. Instead, I wait for her call to go to voicemail, then, like an immature school girl, I decide to look through his phone.

I look at the text messages first, nothing of importance. Some directions sent from Google Maps, a couple of texts in Italian from guys with Italian names. There is a small record to and from Lindsey – it looks their talking about some Italian history… nothing incriminating or upsetting.

Glancing over at Klaus and Caroline, they haven't moved at all, less Klaus tipping back a bottle of wine without taking his eyes off of the hard back book.

I flip out of his text messages and run through his contacts – surprisingly there are quite a few girls names. My stomach knots a bit as I wonder if he's been staying busy with the ladies of Naples. I shake my head to rid myself of the image of Stefan making love to a variety of girls, and flip back to his home screen. He doesn't Facebook or Twitter, so the only apps he has are things like CNN, an app for tracking stocks, ESPN, an E-Bible, and, oh now this might be something, Picture Gallery.

The first few pictures appear to be from sightseeing around Italy – lots of stone pillars and scenic views. There's Lindsey again, posing in front of an enormous wooden door that seemed to be standing in the middle of nowhere. She's wearing a thin cotton red sundress, her long auburn hair gently windswept off of her bare tanned shoulder. I inspect the look in her eyes as she smiles shyly at Stefan taking the picture. She's as love-sick with him as I am.

I can't stand to look at her any longer so I flip again, a few more of the door, then my heart breaks as a picture of me glides onto the screen. I'm curled up in the white, cotton sheets of his bed in the Salvatore house back in Mystic Falls. It looks like he took it in the early morning from the bedside while I still slept – I'm laying on my side, hugging his pillow and my back is bare, as if we'd made love earlier in the night I'd not dressed after wards. It's not overtly sexy, just incredibly intimate – so much so that I can almost smell his scent of body wash and heat. I bite my lip, remembering the way it felt to lay in his bed after we'd made love and watch him dress after a shower. His statuesque body moving fluidly in the dim lighting. The gentle way he'd climb back into bed and pull my body against him, holding me tightly.

"You're beautiful." His voice is a whisper, only inches from my ear and I nearly jump out of my skin.

"Stefan…" I gasp, quickly putting his phone on the couch cushion next to me, face down. I can feel myself flushing. "I didn't realize you were here." I can smell that Stefan smell… it wasn't my imagination. I wonder how long he'd watched me pry through his personal things.

He smiles slyly, knowing that he caught me, but he doesn't seem to care. Leaning over the couch, he picks up his phone and brings the screen back to life with a swipe of his thumb. There I am again, half covered in his sheets. I watch his eyes stroll over the photo, the corners of his mouth curving up wards. "Really, I still can't believe how beautiful you are, Elena." His eyes darken with fiery desire. I don't respond, my throat tight with anticipation of his next move. "I took this the night before the sun and the moon ritual. I wanted to remember you just like that, safe and warm, all relaxed and carefree… " He cuts his green eyes to me, "all wrapped up in me."

My stomach drops and muscles deep within me tighten. "Why do you say things like that?" I ask, almost breathlessly.

His face lightens a bit. "I apologize" He straightens up, sliding his phone into the back pocket of his dirty jeans. "That was a little forward." And I can hear it in his voice, he's back to business. "Did you call Damon? Let him know you're okay?"

Damon. My boyfriend, Damon. I repeat it like a mantra. "Yea, he was pretty upset at first…" Stefan looks confused. "I guess he thought I was taking a romantic sabbatical with you in Italy." I give a little laugh, as if I would never do such a thing – we both know I would.

"Oh, he's getting me confused with himself." Okay, I would – you wouldn't, got it. I guess he can tell that kind of hurt because he continues. "I wouldn't want to put that kind of pressure on you. It doesn't matter how badly I want you. I want you to do what's right for you. You don't need me hanging around mucking up your thought process." He smiles. I think we both realize that Damon did just that, and that's how he ended up under my skin while Stefan was away with Klaus.

"Have they been out there long?" He motions his head toward the balcony as he gracefully changes the subject.

"For most of the day" I laugh, I'd never known vampires to be so tranquil.

"And has Klaus been drinking?" Stefan looks serious again – his wavering from playful, to sensual, to business is exhausting my senses. I nod yes, wondering if that's part of 'the plan'. The light in his eyes tells me it is. "Have you ate?"

"I was going to…" remembering Lindsey's call detouring me from the kitchen.

Stefan stands, dropping his cell on the sofa table and swiftly removes the now dirty thermal shirt, wadding it up as I watch his muscles roll beneath his olive skin. "Let me shower and I'll take you out for lunch."

I hate how happy this makes me. I repeat my mantra as I smile up at him, so beautiful and carved in the sunlight. He returns my smile, seemingly as happy as I am with our impromptu lunch date. "Are you going to wear that?" His eyes cross my bare stomach and bikini top. I flush under his gaze. "I mean, you can – I'm not complaining" he teases.

"I can hear the locals now – that trampy American in the banana bikini." I head to my room and Stefan trails behind me, heading to the master at the end of the hall.

"Good looking bananas." He teases, but I can feel his eyes on my backside as I swish my hips a bit more than necessary.

Klaus finishes his second bottle of red wine with a long pull. Taking in his beautiful Caroline as she sun bathes, he can hear Stefan's comment about banana's and gives a little laugh. He knew it would be easy to get Stefan and Elena back together – after a thousand years on this earth the one thing that he knew with certainty is that that type of commitment or love, or whatever you want to label it, did not just move aside. It was not replaceable, it was not breakable… all they needed was a couple of carefree days. Sure, he'd been the cause of their demise in the first place, so it was only right that he'd bring them back together – it was just icing on the cake that Damon was probably steaming with anger. Stefan and Damon may be brothers, but Klaus had a difficult time finding any sort of common ground between the two of them. Where Stefan was calm and calculating, Damon was an over-reacting impatient fool. Damon would kill recklessly, spoiling the fun in a matter of seconds, whereas the Stefan that Klaus knew, could draw out the good time for hours. He'd witnessed Stefan prolong a kill for close to a day – what laughs they'd had.

While in Chicago, he's seen a glimpse of that Stefan – his brother, but could tell it wasn't going to hold. He had to find a middle ground, somewhere between the Stefan that those in Mystic Falls knew and the one that Klaus had enjoyed in the 1920's. It took a while, but, Klaus thought as he looked around the spectacular condo, the view of the Mediterranean, Caroline's lithe body stretched out on the canvas lounger, it appeared that Stefan was able to find a compromise between the two warring personalities that he encompassed.

"What are you thinking?" Caroline spoke without moving, her tortoise shell sunglasses hiding her eyes. Klaus was surprised that he couldn't sense her looking at him.

"I'm thinking…" Klaus closed the book and stood to retrieve another bottle of liquor, "how good it feels to win. And I'm thinking that you look good enough to eat, Ms. Forbes."

Her smile seemed somehow brighter than the sun, doing more to warm him than the sun ever could. "So you think you've won, huh?"

Klaus spooned a couple cubes of ice into a glass tumbler, then filled it with whiskey before taking a seat next to where Caroline lay. She wouldn't tan, just not possible for vampires, but the sun gave her skin a slight sheen of sweat that sparkled like glitter, begging for Klaus' touch. He sipped his drink, then took a cube of the ice and ran it down her arm, to the wrist and back, leaving a small stream of water in it's path. She shivered from both the cold ice and his gentle teasing touch, her smile widening.

"I know you're mine, Caroline." His tone was light, but confident as he took the melting ice and guided it from the nape of her neck, between her shoulder blades, slowing moving lower against her spine. "Though I'd like to hear you say it, again."

"Mmmm" She sighed the question, relishing in the contrast of the ice on her skin.

Klaus leaned over her and licked a bit of the melted ice from between her shoulder blades, "I want you to tell me you love me, again." She could feel his lips forming the words against her skin.

To be able to appear so confident, he was still so unsure of himself. Caroline turned over to her back, and sat up on her elbows, not concerned with whether her untied bikini was covering her breasts or not. "Klaus, why is it so hard for you to believe that I love you?"

His eyes seemed so youthful even after a thousand years – Caroline noticed as he looked away from her. She was, as always, brutally honest with him and it cut him to the quick. "I've not been the most deserving person, Caroline."

She shrugged at the thought, he was right. But it didn't change the fact that she did indeed love him. "I love you. I. Caroline Forbes, Ms. Mystic Falls 2011, love you Niklaus Mikaelson." She said playfully, tossing her head back and nearly yelling the words. "And I am not ashamed!"

Klaus laughed – a true laugh, from deep within his belly – he couldn't help but believe her and it filled him with a sense of joy that he'd never experienced – not as a human, not as a vampire, not as a hybrid. "You are too much for me." He teased, slipping his hand beneath her head. He leaned into her, kissing her the way he'd wanted to for so long, without any hesitation, showing his love for her as their lips slipped against one another.

**CHAPTER 9**

Damon opened the door, already knowing it was Jeremy and Bonnie on the other side, he could hear their voices before they got out of her Prius. Bonnie had her usually furrowed brow and pursed lips expression of disgust, while Jeremy – his arm around Bonnie's waist – appeared more like a deer in the headlights. He and Elena had the same doe-eyed look when they were worried, but on Jeremy it just made him look weak.

"I hope you aren't expecting me to cook…" Damon joked as a greeting. He knew why they were there.

"We can't get ahold of Elena. Matt said Klaus took her to Italy…" Jeremy stated, then looked at Damon, cuing him to speak. Damon raised his eyebrows as if to say 'so…'

"Aren't you going to go get her?" Bonnie spoke. Always condescending, Damon thought. He turned and left them at the door step, leaves swirling at their feet from the pending storm, as he headed back to the den figuring that was as good of an answer as any. "Damon!" She commanded, stepping into his house and closing the small amount of distance he'd put between them.

"Oh what now, Bonnie?" He turned to face her, over exaggerating his frustration as he threw his hands into the air. "Do you want me to go and save her from Stefan? Or from Klaus? Or Caroline? We're all vampires and everyone's out to get Elena…" Her eyes widened, shocked by how he spoke to her. "That's what you think isn't it? Those vampires all the same, just looking for another kill!" Damon's mouth continued to form words that even he wasn't sure where they were coming from. Elena being with Stefan was bugging him more than he realized and, with Bonnie here, it was easy to vent his frustrations towards her.

Bonnie lowered her gaze, "It doesn't matter what I think. You know as well as I do that she's in danger if she's anywhere near Klaus." Her words rang true. "So put away your stupid pride, and do what you have to do to get her back. Whatever pissing contest you and Stefan are playing needs to stop long enough for you two to work together to keep her safe."

Damon turned away from her, not wanting her to see that she'd gotten to him. Jeremy had made his way into the house and was standing just behind Bonnie. Damon looked at them with a neutral expression, after a long moment he said, "So, I assume I'm not going to be able to get out of Mystic Falls without you two tagging along."

"Mmm, I haven't ever thought of it that way." Stefan crossed his legs, his ankle resting on top of his knee. "But it makes sense."

They'd been cozied up in the corner table at Gran Caffe Gambrinus – a marbled coffee shop built in the late 19th century – catching up like old friends. The café was busy when they first arrived, full of Friday lunchers, but as the clock moved closer to 4pm, they were nearly alone in the small coffee shop. Stefan was always a great conversationalist, perfect at listening at the right time and asking questions to help move the dialogue along. It was one of the first things that Elena fell in love with. She could, and many times had, talked to him for hours. Even as she told him about her classes, her professors, and her thoughts of joining a sorority alone, he never appeared bored or found her ideas silly. Elena knew he'd already experienced all that a college life had to offer, and it made her glad to know that he was happy to listen to her.

"I know it's silly… we've been friends since kindergarten." Elena pushed her hair behind her ears, the sounds of the other patron's speaking in Italian and a soft song playing in the background, gave Elena a sense of calm – _or maybe it's him _ – her conscious interjected.

"True. But, it won't make your friendships worth any less." He sipped his coffee. "I think it's a great idea. Joining a sorority without Caroline or Bonnie will give you a chance to stand on your own when you want to. You'll always have them to lean on when you need to."

Elena couldn't help herself, the words left her lips before her brain could filter her thoughts. "Is that what you're doing? Standing on your own?"

Stefan froze for a moment, her dark chocolate eyes boaring into him. "Again, I haven't thought of it that way, but yea, I guess I am."

"I just don't understand why you want to be on your own? I mean," Elena sat back, pushing the plate that held the remains of her salad away from her. "I get that you needed space…"

He countered her move by putting his foot on the floor and resting his elbows on the table, leaning towards her. "The space isn't for me, Elena." He was calm and collected as he spoke. "Besides, it's been good. Being here has given me a chance to find a little stability… some solid ground. I like working at the docks, nice way to burn some of my cravings off" Elena wondered if his cravings involved more than blood, but she didn't ask. "You know how much I love Italy; it's giving everyone a chance to catch their breath… Caroline told me that she filled you in. About Klaus, I mean." Stefan looked around the room for anyone appearing to be eavesdropping. "I've said it a million times before – he took away the only reason I had for living, I can't let him win."

Elena leaned in to the table as well, placing her hand in his. He held it gently as her thumb grazed back and forth across his scarred knuckles. "Please, Stefan… I'll die if something happens to you."

They shared a long stare, Adele's voice haunting through the small café. Whether she cared for Damon or not, Stefan could literally feel the love they shared for one another. There would always be a deep rooted devotion flowing between them, it was just something that he knew. "Did she tell you about Klaus' bet?" He smiled, then raised her hand to his lips, leaving a kiss on her fingers. Elena smiled at his gesture of love. "He told me last night, after we left that club… I think it's in our best interest if he thinks that we're back together."

"Why can't we just be 'back together'?" Elena spoke with unrestrained honesty. "I know you love me, Stefan. I love you. I'm choosing you."

Stefan closed his eyes, wishing that he could somehow hold her words –freeze them in time, at that moment. How he wished he could believe her, trust her at her word. He wanted to hold her again, he was willing to forget about Damon and Spain, but deep down he knew that she was not ready to make that decision. She'd barely had any time at all to work through what she felt for Damon, and being in Italy with Stefan was like living in a bubble of serenity – it wasn't reality. At Adele's words, _~You're the only one that I want, I don't know why I'm scared. I've been here before, every feeling, every word. I've imagined it all…~ _Stefan opened his eyes, taking in the beautiful, feminine features of her face. "It's just not time yet."

He could see the pain wash over her, she shook her head and started to say something, to argue with him, but he interrupted. "I do love you, Elena. That's something you can count on for the rest of my days, I will always love you. But when you come back to me," He swallowed, ready to bare his soul. "if you do choose me, I want you to be sure. Because I'm ready to give you my life… even if your fifty years old" Elena couldn't suppress her smile. "It doesn't matter. Whenever you're ready, I'll always wait for you."

Elena and Stefan continued to gaze into one another's eyes – bistre brown, glassy with unfalling tears to the greenest of green. "So then, for the weekend… we're together, then?"

Stefan bit his lip and nodded, fighting the urge to turn the table between them over onto the floor and take her in his arms. "I think, and if you want you can disagree, but I think instead of 'together', maybe you should play hard to get." His smile was playful, she knew he enjoyed the thought of chasing her, even if they both knew she'd gladly be captured.

"Hard to get? Me? Resist Stefan Salvatore?" She mocked, cupping her hand to his face.

"I'm just saying, for your protection." Stefan turned into her touch, kissing her wrist, "God knows that if I catch you I'm not going to be able to stop." His words were so naughty and seductive, yet Elena understood the double entendre – he wanted to give her time and he didn't want to cross Damon – a very Stefan thing to think about while in the midst of a tense situation with Klaus.

The fiery sensation between them was growing ever larger as the waiter stepped into their peripheral.

"C'è qualcos'altro per voi? Finito?" The waiter asked, taking Elena's salad plate and basket of bread.

Stefan responded, his Italian rolling off his tongue and tickling Elena's ears. "Si, finito. Grazie per il vostro servizo." He retrieved his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans and handed the waiter a few red euro.

The waiter bowed slightly, thanking Stefan for what must have been a good tip – afterall, they'd taken up the table for close to two hours. "You speak Italian really well…" Elena could feel herself doting on him.

He just smiled and stood up, pushing in his chair and offering his hand to her. "Ready?"

Caroline's POV

Sleeping with the enemy. Traitor. Double Agent. That's me.

Standing in the voluminous granite tiled shower, hot water rushing over my head and dulling my sense of hearing, I'm left alone with my thoughts. Thoughts of Klaus' hands on my body, his mouth against my mouth, the look in his eyes every time I tell him that I love him. My thoughts of Tyler – beautiful, strong, Tyler. I can see his coal black eyes clearly in my mind. My imagination steer clear of how hurt he'd be if he knew that not an hour ago I was curled onto Klaus' body like a vine, relishing in the stimulating currents flowing between us. I've never felt anything like it before – and I'm not sure if it's because we're both vampires or because he's experienced, or because we're madly in love. We are. Madly in love with each other. I guess he is my Stefan. Tyler, my Damon.

At that frustrating thought, I turn off the water and step out onto the plush bath mat. I'm dripping with water, steam rolling off of my skin as I reach for the towel I brought in when I notice a small velvet box sitting on top of it.

I smile – Klaus is so romantic, yet evil… he's evil, Caroline. I tell myself, taking the box in my hand and opening it without hesitation.

It's Cartier, a stainless steel watch – it's exquisite. I slip it off the white velvet pillow and inspect it, finding a message engraved on the back:  
>Doubt the stars are fire, that the sun doth move;<br>Doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love.  
>– K<p>

Romantic, yet evil.

I've got to talk with Stefan…

**CHAPTER 10**

STEFAN's POV

We walked back to the condo in silence, mentally preparing ourselves for what we were about to embark. It wouldn't be hard to look like we were in love. It's hard to look like we aren't in love… the problem lies in the details. In the emotional flood gate we're opening by allowing ourselves to act as if we've resolved our issues. It's what we both want, but we've got so much baggage to drudge through before we can come out on top – if we ever do.

Elena looks so natural in Italy, surrounded by the most beautiful buildings sandwiched together along the cobblestone streets. I can tell she's enjoying herself, trying to take in all of the history these buildings hold. As we get within eyesight of the condo, she slips her hand in mine and I can feel the first drops of metaphorical water beginning to seep through my walls.

"This place, it just doesn't fit you." Elena says, her voice light as she looks over the condo.

"No?" I ask.

"It's too cold… very Klaus, though."

I smile up at her as she begins to move up the flight of stairs to the front door – I think she understands by my expression that this place is more for Klaus than for me. It's all part of my plan. Standing in front of the large glass doors, I catch a sudden change in Elena's expression as she looks through the glass, into the kitchen. I follow her gaze.

Caroline is sitting on the kitchen isle, wearing a deep blue sundress that is hiked up around her hips, Klaus standing between her legs, his starched white shirt left unbuttoned – they have their arms wrapped around each other, kissing as if they are gasping for oxygen. For a moment, we're both shocked. Elena a bit more disgusted, I think. I pull her hand to get her attention and she takes a moment before her eyes look into mine. For fear of Klaus hearing me, I shake my head no – begging her not to make a big deal about it, not to let Klaus know that she doesn't approve of his relationship with Caroline. As her face relaxes back to neutral, I know that she understands that it's another leg of my plan… atleast, that's what it's supposed to be. By the way she was holding him, I can't help but wonder if Caroline is an award-deserving actress, or if she's grown fond of him. I look once more, and I'm certain of it, Caroline is into whatever it is they have going on.

Opening the door, I say loudly to Elena, "Go on in, I'll get us some drinks." My eyes willing Elena to continue to play along, to remember our plan.

I can hear Klaus and Caroline moving away from one another and as I round the corner of the divinding wall for the foyer, Caroline is still sitting on the isle but is quickly straightening her skirt. We share the slightest of looks at one another, until she breaks it by looking down at her toes. Klaus is working on buttoning his shirt and gives me a winning smile. My stomach turns at the thought. I have zero romantic interest in Caroline, but she's so much like Lexi that I feel a strong connection to her – considering the smile on Klaus face I know that they've been up to something while we were out.

"Not on my countertops, Klaus." I feign a sarcastic tone, playing the good guy, we're all buddies thing, while internally I'm fighting the urge to vomit.

I don't even have to look at Caroline to know she's turning a deep shade of red as Elena comes to stand next to her. Klaus just gives me a raised-eyebrow, innocent look that doesn't fly. "Never, my friend." He laughs. "Did we get a bite to eat?" He asks, and I can't tell if he's talking to me or Elena, she answers him.

"Stefan took me to a little coffee shop." She seems completely at ease and I'm a bit surprised by how well she's pulling it off. Elena looks at me through her lashes, shyly.

"Mmm, so you two had a nice time, I take it?" Klaus grabs my shoulder, somewhat congratulatory like. "Tell me Stefan, what are the plans for the night? I believe it's getting close to dinner time for those of us more partial to a liquid diet."

My mouth waters, my mind filled with the memory of the taste of Elena's blood. I look at her without thinking about it, and I can tell she knows what's on my mind. I feel a surge of guilt immediately – I hate that when I'm hungry, I want her. I would never act on my cravings for her, not unless I'm in a situation like we were last night. But it's been this way since we met. For the first few weeks I was starving for her in so many ways that I was in actual pain. I look away, trying to concentrate on anything else when she says. "You can always drink from me…" her voice is soft and seducing.

All three of us, Klaus, Caroline, and myself gasp as our heads turn in unison to look at her – standing casually by Caroline in a pair of short jeans shorts and a long sleeved white tee shirt over her bikini top – _she looks delicious_ I think to myself – licking my lips unconsciously as my mind replays the words she'd spoken. "Just Stefan, I mean." She clarifies as she confidently strides over to me and wraps her arms around my waste. With her body pressing up against mine, my mind has trouble figuring out what I want most from her: her blood or her body.

I swallow hard.

Klaus smiles so wide that I figure it must hurt his face. "Of course, Elena." He sighs, backing up from us. I look at Caroline for a moment, then down at Elena – her face full of trust – I can feel my eyes beginning to turn and my fangs protruding from my gums and within a few seconds, I've burst through the tender skin of her neck and I am enjoying the taste of her blood the way a starving man would value a drink of water. I'm completely and utterly lost in her taste, in her breath in my ear, in her arms hugging my waist. I will forever belong to her.

I feel her body begin to relax a bit too much, my sign that I've had enough, and I release her from my bite but keep my hands grasping low on her hips. When I am full, like this, I feel stronger than steel, like I'm unbreakable, and worst of all, I feel each and every single fiber of my body loving this woman. Looking into her eyes, I have to mentally berate myself to keep from sweeping her into my arms and making love to her.

"Now, I see why you've preferred the love of a human for long, Stefan." Klaus jokes, breaking the thick sexual tension between Elena and I. Caroline shoots him a playful look of jealousy and he raises his hands in innocence. "I'm just saying… it does seem awfully convenient."

"I think it's beautiful," Caroline coos, hoping off of the counter top, "but it did make me hungry."

Elena turns in place and leans her back against my chest – I wonder for a moment if the move was to make sure Caroline wasn't attempting to bite her.

"Shall we?" Klaus bows to her, extending his hand to Caroline. "I'm sure we can find some tasty treats of our own."

Caroline brushes his hand away. "No human blood… going on five months sober, not going to ruin it just because I'm on vacation." She shoots me a look – I think she needs to talk with me.

"There are usually a few loners out on the beach around this time of day, about a mile north. I think it's an apartment complex." Elena seems to stiffen a bit and I know she's feeling a bit ill at the idea of me feeding on humans. I make a mental not to let her know that before I bit her last night, I hadn't had human blood since early spring.

Klaus seems to agree that he should look out that way, and after trying Caroline a few more times, he kisses her and heads out onto the beach. We carry on as usual; I check on the alcohol while Elena and Caroline discuss going out shopping or to a club – all the while my eye is on Klaus who is casually making his way north. Once he's far enough up the beach that I know he can't hear me, something in me breaks and I turn to Caroline. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" I storm back into the condo, catching the girls by surprise. "I asked you to lead him on! Looked to me like it's gone quite a bit further than that!"

Caroline comes back at me with equal force – sometimes I forget that she is not the same insecure teenaged girl I met two years ago. "Excuse me? You asked me to help. I'm helping!"

"But like that? He was all over you!" For a moment I feel like we're having a lovers quarrel. "He's a monster, Caroline!"

"I don't care what he is, Stefan. I'm going to do whatever it is I have to in order to save Tyler." She cuts her eyes to Elena who is frozen on one of the barstools, then back at me. "You of all people should understand that." She motions toward me and I catch the reflection of the sun off of her bracelet. It takes less than a second for me to register that its not a bracelet. She sees that its caught my attention and protectively wraps her hand around it. "He gave it to me." She says much quieter, but still with an angry undertone.

"Caroline, please, please be careful here." I plead. "I can't let anything get in the way of my plans… nothing." I hope she understands what I'm saying, but I'm not sure and I can't bring myself to bluntly tell her that if she tries to get in the way I'll stake her.

After a moment, I head to the master bedroom to make some calls while Klaus is still out, grazing my fingers across Elena's bare thigh as a silent apology. I take a seat in a wicker chair near the window so I can keep my eye out for Klaus making his way back. I have three missed calls from Lindsey, one from Cruz, and one from Damon. Cruz is the only one who left a voicemail – he tells me that they are expected to land in Rome by midnight tonight and we'll meet at our rendezvous point at our agreed upon time Saturday night.

I can hear Elena questioning Caroline about Klaus and Caroline returning the questions about me.

Checking again for Klaus, I tap on Lindsey's name, then put the phone to my ear as it rings.

"Where have you been?" She answers, "I've been so worried!"

I filter my thoughts, responding with "I'm fine, everything's going as planned. How are things on your end?"

I hear her heartbeat through the phone – she's incredibly upset – so I lay it on a bit for her. "Lindsey, everythings going to be fine, okay. I promise. I won't let anything happen to you." I'm not lying, I won't let her get hurt, but I'm sweetening it a bit much. I know I have no interest in her romantically, but if I have to fool her in order to get her full assistance, that's what I'll do – Nothing will stand in my way.

She sniffles a bit, "I thought he'd killed you."

I laugh as if that's the silliest thing I've heard, "No, we've just been hanging out today… he's been drinking not stop." I mention this in order to calm her nerves about the experience I had at the Temples.

"So, everything is still on? The others are coming in tonight, yes?"

"Right, everything is on track."

We talk a bit more – I change the subject to work this morning and ask her about her mother who'd been ill the last couple of days. Before we hang up she tells me that she misses seeing me, and I lie, telling her I missed her too.

I consider calling Damon, but with the time difference I know it's not yet dawn in Mystic Falls. When I come back to the living area Elena is holding Caroline's new watch and reading the engraving aloud.

"Doubt the stars are fire, that the sun doth move. Doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love. K"

"It's from Hamlet." I state, silently wondering if he chose a quote from Hamlet as a sign that he is fully aware of what's going on. Caroline and Elena look at me in unison, their faces expressing confusion. "Shakespeare. It's about Prince Hamlet setting out to kill his Uncle after his Uncle killed his father and took his mother as queen." I look out over the ocean, feeling nervous about my plan for the first time, "Hamlet says that to Ophelia, who ends up killing herself because of her broken heart."

"Hamlet didn't love her back?" Caroline asks

I look at her, my face solemn "He loved her, but she lost him to his insanity and she couldn't stand to live without him."

Caroline registers my words, my questioning tone, and turns away from my gaze – its then that I know that she loves Klaus.

Bonnie leaned over her seat, trying to listen to Damon's conversation with the woman at the ticket counter. He was using compulsion on her, but it seemed to be failing. Damon's voice sounded as surprised as she was when, after telling the agent that he just bought three tickets for flight 771 to Italy, she smirked and said, "okay, and I just won the lottery. But I'm still working here and you still need to actually purchase the tickets, sir."

Damon' s expression gave away his confusion and anger as he sat down in front of Jeremy. "I have no idea what just happened…"

"So what, we can't get on the flight?" Jeremy questioned.

"Unless you have enough money in your Velcro superhero wallet to pay for our tickets, then no. I don't need money. I don't have any. At least not that much."

Bonnie cringed at her thought, but knew she had no choice. While in Chicago, she'd learned a few new spells from a group of seasoned witches that she met at an old school apothecary. "Do either of you have a debit card?"

They turned to look at her, curious, but saying nothing. Damon takes his wallet out of his jeans and hands her a red plastic card. Without explanation, she stands to go to the ladies room for some privacy.

"Ah look at you three bagabonds." Rebekah's voice chimes through the air, stopping Bonnie in her track. "You two I understand…" she gestures to Bonnie and Jeremy, "But after a few decades a vampire you'd think you would know how to travel. Always go private, Damon."

The French movie was subtitled in English, with Italian voice overs, but Stefan and Elena were not paying much attention. With Klaus and Caroline acting like teenagers, all loud kisses and exploring hands in the spots next to them, Stefan and Elena sank in their theater seats and shared a Dr. Pepper. They held hands, shared silent smiles, and made quiet jokes about the film. They'd never experienced this type of a date before – from the very beginning of their relationship things were tense and scary and dramatic. With the theater full of other couples, for the first time they were just normal. Just a girl and guy spending time sitting close to one another in a dark, cool room, allowing the possibilities of the night to surround them with a soft excitement.

They didn't even notice when the credits began to roll until the others in the theater stood to exit. "That was a great film." Klaus smiled, wiping at the gloss around his mouth left by Caroline's kisses.

Stefan rolled his eyes at him and gave him a gentle shove. "You're make up looks great." Stefan teased, breaking Klaus' innocent expression into a bright smile. They made their way out to the street – Klaus and Caroline keeping an arm around each other, and Stefan and Elena holding hands as they walked.

"Elena, we forget sometimes that you need food…" Caroline smiled. "Should we get you something? I would love a glass of wine."

Elena agreed, she was famished, but didn't want to break up their group. Klaus was malicious, there was no questioning that, but he and Stefan did seem to have a great time with one another. They acted a bit like frat boys, and Elena couldn't help but enjoy seeing them interact with one another. The playful side of Stefan was one she had rarely seen, but loved most of all.

Klaus led them to a low lit Indian food place just on the outskirts of old downtown – they served rare Indian dishes, expensive liquor, and had a lively bar. The food was excellent, but Elena and Stefan were the only ones that ate – he'd gotten so used to eating with her to keep her company that it came natural to order when she did. Klaus ordered bottle service from the bar and before Elena could finish her razala and naan, a dish suggested by Klaus that Elena devoured, he'd already polished off a bottle and a half of Glen Garioch whiskey. Stefan seemed to be pushing the alcohol, but, Elena noticed, was consuming very little if any.

Caroline danced in her seat to the Indian-inspired techno music. Elena had to admit, the quick beat and energetic string instruments did make her want to dance. It only took Caroline asking once to get Elena to go small, crowded dance floor with her. They had barely made it into the crowd of dancers before they were enveloped and, holding hands, they found a rhythm with the crowd. The lights flashing, the music pumping, a foreign language narrating it all, Elena was happier than she could remember being in years. If she stood on her tip toes, she could see Stefan, talking with Klaus, but his heavy lidded eyes never losing sight of her. Despite herself, she began to move sexier – pronunciating the sway of her hips, grazing her hands against the curves of her body. Caroline, a bit intoxicated, followed suit, and before long they were the stars of the floor. The two pale skinned girls in an ocean of dark skinned partiers, their suggestive movements the focus of most of the men surrounding them – and some of the women too, though they looked a bit less pleased. Caroline and Elena didn't notice. They were dancing like they'd never had a girl's night out, like this might be their last. And some extent, they were right to fear such things.

For two years, they'd ran, and fought, and cried, and hurt – but in this night, surrounded by the unfamiliar, they'd reconnected with the carefree girls they'd once been, and it was the most amazing feeling.

Stefan continued to watch Elena, he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her with such a genuine smile on her face. She was having a great time and he was happy that she was able to experience Italy with Caroline by her side. "Some of those gentlemen seem to be getting a bit close…" Klaus observed aloud, leaned over the table to get a closer look at the area where they were dancing.

Stefan had noticed, but unlike Klaus, he didn't seem to have jealous bone in his body, atleast not if Damon wasn't involved.

When an obviously drunk college aged guy moved behind Caroline, slidding his arm around her waist, Klaus nearly flipped the table over. Caroline didn't seem to mind and Stefan could see that was setting Klaus even closer to the edge. "Let me handle this" Stefan smiled, stopping Klaus from taking off to the floor. Against his better judgment, feeling a tingling of excitement in his gut at the thought of tearing into the guy – or any one for that matter – Stefan hopped over the railing separating their table and the dance floor and made a quick line to Elena, Caroline, and his target in the bright blue Aeropostle tee shirt and backwards baseball cap.

When Elena caught sight of Stefan, she could see his anger radiating in his now dark eyes. He moved past her, in one swift move gliding his arm around her to move her body behind his, then took Caroline by the wrist, pulling her away from the drunk dancer. "Having a good time?" Stefan spoke loudly, over the music, and to make his annoyance clear to the man.

The guy stopped dancing when he realized Stefan's stature – he was wearing a white tee shirt and jeans, the shirt doing nothing to hide his very muscular frame. "I… look man…" He slurred, holding up his hands.

Elena was in shock – this was nothing like Stefan, but he appeared to be raging about the guy dancing with Caroline. She grabbed his hand and he turned to look at her with a warning in his eyes. Stefan stepped closer to the guy and placed his large hand on his shoulder, very closer to the man's neck. For a moment, Elena cringed with fear that Stefan was about to attack the guy. "I don't want you hurt you," He spoke loud enough to be heard, but quiet enough that Elena, Caroline, and especially Klaus, could not hear him. "That girl you were dancing with is here with a guy that is very jealous and very dangerous. You need to walk out of here, right now. Trust me. You don't want him to come down here." Stefan moved back a bit, looking the guy in the eye for good measure. Nodding, as if to say, 'go on'.

"Yea, yea ok." The man turned on his heal and left the floor.

Caroline was making her way back to the table while Elena stood behind Stefan, not recognizing the man in front of her.

"What was that?" She questioned, frustrated.

Stefan pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her and whispered "I just saved his life, Elena."

Luckily, the rest of the night went on without a hitch. They spent another hour or so at the Indian club. Stefan danced with Elena, Klaus danced with Caroline, and once or twice, they switched partners. By the end of the night, even Elena had a hard time separating the fun loving, carefree guy who seemed to adore her best friend from the serial killing Klaus who had terrorized her for over a year.

"Where is that limo when we need it?" Elena joked, her voice was tired and a bit hoarse from laughing and talking over the music. They'd been walking for what seemed like an hour and Elena was wearing the red heels Caroline had given her the night before.

Stefan frowned at her, sorry he hadn't thought of her aching feet earlier. "Hop on" he said nonchalantly as he squatted down in front of her.

"Do what?" She laughed. A real, true, honest laugh, setting Stefan's heart on fire.

"Come on now. Don't make me stay down here all night." He teased. "Come on."

Klaus and Caroline were still walking, creating a bit of distance between them, but Elena could hear Caroline laughing at the sight of Stefan squatting in the middle of the street and Elena doubling over in laughter.

"You're going to carry me?" She said, catching her breath. "I'm too heavy and we've still got a ways to go!"

"Elena," Stefan's smile was beaming up at her, "first of all, you weigh about as much as a feather pillow. Second, I'm a vampire, I think I can handle all hundred pounds of you for quite a distance. Come on."

She didn't argue any more. Handing him her shoes, she laid her chest over on his back and he stood, grabbing her knees and straightening himself up. The rest of the walk to the condo, Stefan pretended as if he was going to drop her, threatened to put her in a dumpster if she didn't stop nibbling at his ear. It was just so normal, Elena thought to herself. It was just easy and ordinary – a girl ridding piggy back on her boyfriend, laughing and tickling, being young. They were normal.

When they reached the top of the stairs to the entrance of the condo, Stefan reluctantly put her down. "We're off to bed." Caroline gave a wicked smile, her hand sliding down Klaus' arm and fingers intertwining with his as she pulled him behind her into her guest room, leaving Elena and Stefan in the dim, quiet living room. Suddenly, their being alone was an elephant in the room. Stefan went to the kitchen, taking a drink of water directly from the faucet. Elena leaned against the back of the couch – not sure if she should tell him that she wanted to go to bed with him or ask him to come to bed with her.

"Want to hear some music?" Stefan asked, his voice low and unfaltering.

Elena nodded and Stefan took his phone from his pocket, tapped the screen a few times as he crossed the vast living room, then slid the phone into a dock. Seconds later a rough, husky male voice filled the room.

Elena listened closely to the words, knowing Stefan chose it purposefully.

**There was a time  
>I had nothing to give<strong>

Stefan kept his eyes on her, watching her take in the words, willing her to understand that, though he couldn't claim them as his own, he couldn't say it any better.

**I needed shelter from the storm I was in  
>And when it all got too heavy<br>You carried my weight  
>And I want to hold you<br>And I want to say**

She returned his gaze, digesting the words filling the air.

**That you are all that I need  
>For you, I give my soul to keep<br>You see me, love me  
>Just the way I am<br>For you I am a better man**

Elena took a few steps around the couch, she wanted to touch him. Stefan stepped forward, somehow giving her permission to come to him. She understood and took a few more steps until she was directly in front of him, their eyes never losing contact.

**I said you are the reason  
>For everything that I do<br>I'd be lost, so lost, without you**

When he slid his hands around her waist, her immediate reaction was to cup his face with her hands. When he began to sway, she matched his movements. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, his eyes speaking to her.

**Under the stars  
>At the edge of the sea<br>There's no one around  
>No one but you and me<strong>

"Elena." Stefan sighed her name, grazing his lips against hers, his eyes closed from the pleasure of feeling her body against his.

**We'd talk for hours  
>As time drifts away<br>I could stay here forever  
>And hold you this way<strong>

She returned his kiss. "Elena…" he called her name again. "Thank you." His voice was raw and whispering, his forehead rested against hers as her finger tips grazing through his hair. "You've saved me, Elena. Thank you."

With his words, powerful and honest, Elena kissed him hard and passionate. He returned her kiss, pushing their embrace further as his tongue slipped between her lips to meet hers in a bump and grind cadence. Running his hands down her hips, he grabbed the backs of her thighs and stood straight, lifting her as she wrapped her bare feet around him. He continued to kiss her mouth, her neck, her shoulders – small, almost soundless moans escaping her lips. When he lay her on the couch, the weight of his body on hers, Stefan pulled away for a moment, his eyes examining her face looking for any signs of doubt.

"Stefan, please." Elena pleaded, "Don't overthink this." He started to turn away from her, but she took his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her, "Let me love you, Stefan." He searched her eyes and a small smile formed on his face.

**CHAPTER 11**

"This is what I hate about traveling across the pond," Rebekah groaned as she stepped down the stairs from the private jet she'd acquired at JFK. "You leave, it's dark – you land, it's dark."

"You're a vampire, thought you'd prefer it to be night all the time." Jeremy jabbed, taking Bonnie's bags and his own, following behind Rebekah.

Rebekah didn't answer, simply rolled her eyes in Damon's direction who was already on the tarmac. Jeremy was just a baby – inexperienced and naive – but, Rebekah couldn't help but be annoyed with him and his witchy girlfriend after spending hours with them traveling to Rome.

"Now what?" Bonnie asked, pushing her hair into a low ponytail as the winds whipped around them.

Damon looked at her with a frustrated expression, "…now we go get Elena."

"Yea, I mean how are we getting to Stefan's"

It suddenly hit them that neither had any idea where he lived – Damon and Bonnie knew it was it Naples, but they had no address, or general vicinity of the city. "Really, we came all the way over to Italy and you don't have an address?" Damon hissed, turning from the group and walking to the small, private-use terminal.

Once inside, he took his cell phone from his pocket and tried Stefan for the third time – again no answer. He caught Rebekah's aloof expression in the corner of his eye, and he immediately knew that she had the information they were looking for. Putting his phone back in his jeans, he turned to her, raised eyebrows and mouth in a frustrated line.

"What?" She asked innocently, applying a glaze of raspberry lip gloss to her pouty lips.

Damon stepped close to her, her fingers grazing her lips interested him, but he also needed Stefan's address. They shared a long look – Bonnie detecting some sort of unspoken tension between them – then Rebekah gave a small laugh with a roll of her eyes. "Go and rent a car then, Salvatore. And please, get something nice…"

ELENA's POV

"What was that?" Klaus' voice rattled through my ears, breaking through deep sleep and sending a shiver of fear through me. It's a natural reaction for me to sit straight up, ready for my bodies fight or flight response to kick in at the sound of his voice. I'm in an unfamiliar room, but the scent of the sheets and Stefan's wallet and watch on the bedside table clue me in that I spent the night in his bed. My fear is awash with joy, then I hear him again. "He was offside the ruck, how could that be a drop goal!"

I'm confused for a moment – he's speaking in English, but I have no idea what he's talking about. Whatever it is, he's getting pretty upset, but luckily it sounds like he's watching a soccer game or something. I can vaguely hear the sounds of the crowd and a sports broadcaster.

Stefan's room is decorated much in the same way as the rest of the house – whites and creams, with a bit of blue accents – modern and clean, and surrounded by spotless glass walls. I stand from the bed, stretching my arms above me and I catch my faded reflection in the glass. I'm wearing a light blue tee shirt of Stefan's – it's hanging from my body loosely, but I can see that I've lost a bit of weight. I remind myself that I have to make it a priority to eat as I move to the bathroom. My mind doesn't register Stefan's voice until I've nearly opened the bathroom door, but I catch myself when I hear him say her name.

"Let Lindsey know." He's speaking quietly with the shower water running as some sort of a sound suppressing technique. "We'll be there just before midnight – I don't want to give him time to figure out what's going on so you've got to move fast. " - "I remember the Temple, trust me." - "Yea, he's been on a binge since he got here a couple days ago." - "I don't know, but I don't want her there, it's too dangerous." - "I haven't figured that out yet." - "I will. Okay."

He's barely finished speaking when he opens the door and catches me eavesdropping. I try to play it off like I heard nothing but I know my eyes give it away. Wordlessly, he takes me by my wrist and pulls me into the bathroom – the shower and sink are running at full blast.

"You've got to get out of here. I want you to take my debit card and go into town. Find a hotel. Don't tell me where you're staying. Keep it from Caroline, too." His voice is steady but I can tell he's on edge as his hands are shaky when he slips them around my face and into my hair. "I can't have you around when this starts to get real. Understand?" I frown, for some reason I want to be involved – I don't want to leave Stefan to take on Klaus on his own. "Please, don't argue with me about this. I have everything under control."

"Lindsey's going to be there." I state it like a fact, not a question. Why can she be there but not me? I want to ask, but I can tell he's getting impatient and I know he's concerned that Klaus is going to begin to wonder where he is. Stefan shakes his head.

"I can't tell you much, but know that she's there because it's necessary that she's around… it has nothing to do with me, or any kind of relationship –"

I interrupt, "She's your girlfriend, right?" I don't know why, but I'm getting angry. Even with the amazing night we had and the way we reconnected at that coffee shop in the plaza, I'm still feeling jealous of the Angelina Jolie look-alike that he himself told me he'd 'moved on' with.

Stefan swallows hard, remembering the letter he sent me. "I, she…" His eyes cut to the bathroom door and he's suddenly taking off his shirt, quickly removing his jeans, and grabs a thick tan towel hanging on the wall. He opens the door, and then looks back down at me as he roughly runs the towel over his hair.

"Are you still showering?" Klaus asks, a beer in his hand, poking his head into Stefan's bedroom. "You're missing a wonderful game!"

Stefan is still looking down at me, standing close in nothing but his grey boxer-briefs. "I'll be out in a moment."

Klaus looks us over – Stefan barely dressed; me in panties and his tee shirt – then smiles widely, giving me a wink as he closes the door behind him. Stefan's body visually releases its tension, but he makes no sound of relief. I open my mouth to start our conversation about how Lindsey can come along to whatever is going to happen tonight, but I have to go get a hotel alone, but Stefan's rough fingers come to my lips, stopping me and shaking his head – his eyes pleading with me to stay quiet.

We stand there like that for a long time – both of us indecent and with barely any space between us, our eyes searching each other –his phone rings and he answers it without breaking our gaze.

"Hello?" He firms his jaw and slowly closes his eyes. "Damon," - "Do not come over here. Do you understand me?" - "Where are you?" - "Stay there. I'll send her to you late this afternoon." - "She can't just slip away, Damon." His voice is quiet, yet I can hear his frustration.

They speak a bit more, all the while Klaus and Caroline can be heard cheering on the game. I gather that Damon is in town, and at some point today, I'll be sent to him for safe keeping.

STEFAN's POV

I'm raging. I have no other way to describe how livid I am with Damon. I can't even get my fingers to work properly as I fumble with the buttons of my white linen shirt. Elena is in the rest room and I can hear her heartbeat, its pulsating through my ears, a steady reminder of my hunger – Damon in Naples a reminder that I should have made love to her last night. My brother would have, had the situation been reversed and it was him that she was embracing. He wouldn't have thought of me at all. I want to kick myself for caring about being honorable, but it doesn't matter. Elena is angry with me about Lindsey, Damon is here to collect her, and I have to focus on Klaus. Glancing at my watch as I fasten it to my left wrist, I note that this whole ordeal will be over in approximately fourteen hours. Midnight… I just have to keep it together til midnight.

It's warmer out today than it has been in the last couple of days, so I decided on a pair of brown cargo shorts and leather flip flops with a baseball cap. I don't feel like me today – I'm not sure if it's the looming conclusion to the nightmare that is Klaus or something else, but I like the way the cap hides my face when I leave Elena in the master and join Klaus and Caroline in the living area. She's sitting sideways in the arm chair, flipping through her phone, while Klaus' attention is for once not focused on her, but on the rugby game playing on the 103 inch plasma hanging from one of the few walls of this place that is not glass. I hate this condo, it too showy, not my style at all, but it fills its requirement as a place for Klaus to feel comfortable in. He's so into the game, and the alcohol he's been downing, that he doesn't notice me enter and head to the kitchen to make Elena an omelet. It's Caroline who sees me first and I know I catch a shadow of doubt in her eyes… it chills me.

I chop and mix, moving methodically as I try and plan out how the events will go down. Cruz, Tomas, Ana, Lindsey, and her younger sister, Gia will begin the spell before the three of us arrive at the Temples. Tonight, a wiccan holiday, the national park will be teeming with people and I've planned on bringing Klaus to the Temples with the expectation of feasting on the intoxicated, partying, gypsies. Caroline and I will have to partake, and, after the control I've exerted while feeding on Elena – God, Elena's blood is luscious – I'm no longer worried that I'll lose myself as I have so many times. That reminds me, I need to drink the bottled lamb's blood that Lindsey spelled for me. It's not the best tasting blood I've ever had, but her witch craft has made it close enough to human blood that it's soothing and smooth.

My thoughts of the Temple, the door, are interrupted by Van Morrison's "Baby, Please Don't Go" blaring from the sound system. I look up and, like many times this weekend, I'm shocked at how close Caroline and Klaus have become. He's muted the game and they're dancing in front of the couch and look like nothing more than a pair of college aged kids who are infatuated with one another. Against my wishes, the song has a way of lifting me, and I feel much less worried – flipping the omelet out of the stainless steel pan, onto a white plate just as Elena comes into view. She's wearing her hair up, the two bite marks on her neck reminding me of her taste once more, and from the white tank top and red bikini bottoms, I'm guessing she's planning on sunning again today.

Seeing her un-expectantly always seems to take the air from my lungs, and I can feel myself fall in love with her again as she moves gracefully across the living room, a smile on her face watching Caroline and Klaus do a lacking version of the twist. I remind myself that not only will Klaus be neutralized by the end of the night, Elena will also be back with Damon and our good-humored weekend will have come to an end.

"Eat up." I smile, hoping my sadness is not evident. I grab one of the Rolling Rock bottles from the fridge that hold the witchy-brewed lambs blood, as Caroline calls it, and take a long hard pull from it. I take it down in three gulps, wishing it was warm but making due, grabbing another.

I'm facing away from Elena, gathering my thoughts and trying to bury my grief when she says, "So, you owe me a surfing lesson."

DAMON's POV

I slipped away from the tag-along's while they looked around in the gift shop and Rebekah made a late lunch of a bell boy in her hotel room. From the front lobby, I can see over the Bay of Naples and my time spent in Italy floods back to me. This place hasn't changed much at all, and the Hotel Excelsior is as true to Naples as ever. Stefan's place is a few miles down the beach and I've decided to do a little reconnaissance. Curiosity killed the cat – that phrase keeps running through my forethoughts as my feet sink in the sand and I begin my walk south.

I'm far from alone on the rocky beach, but something about the blue-green water lapping at my feet makes me feel lonely. It's something I've fought since I was a child – always feeling left out, slightly unwanted, always second choice. I don't know why I've always been rebellious. Katherine once told me that she didn't consider me rebellious, but a leader finding my own way. To this day, those words are still some of the kindest anyone has ever said to me. I hate that it was her that said them though, as I know that she's a careless bitch and it devalues my memory of that night.

Stefan seemed to always win over those people that looked down their nose at reckless Damon Salvatore. Funny, 150 years later and it still stings to remember how my father proudly hugged Stefan, leading him to take over the family business, while kindly suggesting that I join the Army. My own father chose Stefan over me, his eldest son, to follow in his footsteps.

I shake my head, hoping to rearrange my thoughts and study the crowded sea side neighborhood ascending away from the sea line. I'm moving further from the touristy, resort beaches and the condos seem to be getting nicer as I continue south. Recounting the distance I've traveled thus far, I figure I must be getting close to Stefan's condo when I hear giggle – sweet and mischievous – coming from the water. I recognize that laugh, I'd recognize it if I were next to death; it's Elena.

Stopping in my tracks for fear of being caught spying, I try to blend in with the eight or ten humans on the beach by taking a seat in the sand, my eyes searching the water. I see her a few hundred yards away and smile. It's kind of strange to be watching her without her knowing my eyes are on her, but I enjoy it immensely at the same time. She's sitting on a surf board, her hair wet and slicked down her back. I can't recall ever seeing her smile so vividly. The wave catches her board and she's surprised as it lifts her and rushes the board towards the beach. She gives a playful scream and begins to laugh uncontrollably. My heart fills to its capacity at the joyous sound.

I begin to take off my shoes – I want to swim out to her, I need to see her smile like that – but, I'm stopped at the sight of my baby brother coming to the surface of the water next to her leg. She leans over and playfully pushes him under, but not before he grabs her and brings her into the water with him. I can't lie – I still wanted to go to her, but for the sole reason of ripping Stefan's heart from his chest. I don't move, I'm frozen. One shoe off, my hands stuck in the middle of removing the other. I can't tear my eyes away from them.

Elena surfaces first, still laughing, bobbing in the water next to the board. When Stefan comes up next to her he pushes her back onto the board with his hand on her rear. She throws her legs to one side, giving him room to hop up next to her, his legs facing me. I think my blood has stopped flowing. Tenderly, Elena uses her hands to wipe the water from Stefan's face, brushing back his hair as he leans into her and they kiss – I die. I break into thousands of pieces along the beach, wishing the water would catch me and pull me out to sea.

**CHAPTER 12**

ELENA's POV

I'm leaning back against his bare chest. We haven't said anything in a long while, sitting on the surfboard and looking out at the ocean. All I can think of is something my father said to my mom one evening on our porch; Jeremy and I were still pretty young, I think he was playing with cars and I was writing in a journal my mom had given to me. I can see the way he held her against his side, swaying slowly on the porch swing as the warm Sunday came to a close. It had been a good day, I guess – we'd gone to church, then had a picnic lunch at the falls, spending the rest of the day hiking and what not. We'd just ate dinner and for some reason we all went to the porch. Out of the blue my dad said, to no one in particular, his voice soothing to my ears, "Sometimes, the most ordinary things can be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people." I don't remember ever understanding his words like I do at this moment, the cool breeze sweeping across my bare skin and Stefan's arms warm and secure around me.

"If we'd met at another time, under a different circumstance," He kisses my shoulder, no need to finish his sentence, he knows I understand.

"This doesn't have to end. We can just leave." I think about how fun it's been to be just a couple in love on vacation with their friends, and I am sure about what I'm about to offer. "Let's just leave him alone. If he wants my blood, I'll give it to him. I'm not ready to give this up, Stefan."

He sighs, resting his head on my shoulder. I can feel his lashes on my neck. "You don't know what you're saying. It's not just you he'll be draining for his hybrids…" Visions of nameless children run through my head, I know he's referring to any children that I have and their children, and so on…

"Besides," he continues, "as much as I want to, and Elena… you have no idea how badly I wish I could, but I cannot give you children. I can't grow old with you. Being with me is like setting every dream you've had about your future on fire."

We've had this conversation before, so I know where he's going with it. I don't want to hear it, as I said, I'm not ready to lose this two day long nirvana that I've found. I turn and kiss him, he understands and we float a bit longer in silence, watching the sun sink to the horizon.

"We need to get back to shore." It's time. I can see it in his eyes. I want to start bawling, but I hold myself together.

He's moving ahead of me. I'm sure he's falling apart inside just as I am. When Klaus sees us hit the sand he hollers down at us that he and Caroline want to go out and we should hurry up and get changed. I consider begging Stefan to let me go with them, but I can see in his eyes that he's losing his focus on his plan – diluted by the pain of our affair coming to an end – and I fear that his lack of concentration may end up with him getting hurt, so I tell Stefan that I'm tired and would like to stay in and take a nap. He understands that I'm telling him this so that Klaus hears and he nods with approval as we make our way up the steps to the condo.

I don't waste any time in the living area where Klaus is still drinking and Caroline is searching the internet for a club she'd heard some people talking about when we were at the techno place our first night in Italy.

When I get to my room and close the door, my knees give way and I hit the floor hard, crying in silence. I'm exhausted from hours in the water and from the rollercoaster I've been on since the night my parents were killed.

I can see Stefan in history class the first time our eyes locked, I can feel his hand in mine the night we went to the bonfire. Everything is rushing back to me at an alarming pace. The day we spent together and he confessed his secret of being a vampire – the first time we made love, my first time ever. I can see his tears when I tried to break up with him after Katherine attacked Aunt Jena. I gasp for air, but grab at my mouth with both hands – trying to force myself to stay silent so that Klaus doesn't get suspicious. My mind is still replaying my memories – learning that Stefan left with Klaus, watching him fight Klaus' compulsion. He tried so hard, but lost and in less than a second, everything we'd had was gone. I can see how heartbroken he was when I told him about Damon. Damon. I cry harder – rocking back and forth on my knees – I don't love Damon, not like Stefan. I've known it all along, but I can no longer deny it and I hate myself for hurting them both.

I don't hear when she comes in the room, but I cling to Caroline and she wraps herself around me, crying into her hair as she shushes me like a child. I catch my breath, but she doesn't let me go, just kneels beside me and holds me.

CAROLINE's POV

I didn't even have to look at her to know she was upset – after so many years with someone, the most subtle things can be a dead giveaway. After a moment, as not to raise any suspicion, I excused myself – explaining that I was going to try and talk Elena into coming with us. I don't know what was said between Elena and Stefan, but I knew she needed a friend.

She's laying on her bed now and I'm sitting in the floor beside it, holding her hand, just being there. She doesn't know it, but I'm about to experience losing the love of my life as well. I don't know how I let it happen, or why it had to be me that Klaus took an interest in, but I can't deny that Klaus is my soul mate. He is the way he is because of his father, because of his mother, and there is no way of changing that. But the man beneath all of his hurt and anger and scars, that man is incredibly warm, smart, and sensitive. I wish I could peel away all the memories of pain that Klaus carries with him armor. I wish I could erase all of the vile things he's done to those I love. I can't and it's no use dwelling on it. I'll love him for the rest of my life, even though our relationship is coming closer and closer to its end. I look at my watch, my beautiful watch, it's 6:00pm.

"Come on," I stand, pulling Elena into a sitting position, "let's get you in the shower." I can hear Stefan's shower starting and Klaus has started the music again, a slow, deep melody. At first, I think it's out of place for such a somber memory, but as I listen it fits. It's Nirvana, I can't place the name, but the warped guitar strum and Kurt Cobain's gritty vocals are haunting.

Once Elena's in the shower, I pick an outfit for her and leave it on the bed – her low slung jeans, a deep purple sweater, and my camel brown leather jacket, then go back to Klaus. He's sketching something, but stops when I enter the room, his eyes light up.

"Caroline, you are more stunning each and every time I see you."

I have six hours left to show him the kind of love that he should have been able to experience his entire life.

STEFAN's POV

I have to get myself together.

My fingers are shaking. My mouth is dry. I can't focus on much of anything. I thought taking a shower would help me gain my balance again but I can't ignore this ache, I can't imagine going back to living without Elena.

I'm half dressed when Caroline comes into my room. Things between us are as close to siblings as possible and I'm not shy about my state of undress. I don't care that she didn't knock; she may as well be my sister by blood. I hate knowing that by trapping Klaus I'll be breaking her heart. She can lie if she wants, deny it, but I know she's in love with him. From one person fighting their feelings to another, I can spot it in the way she looks at him. There is a longing there, something that only another in the same position could read.

"She's upset." Caroline states, pulling a dark grey shirt from my closet and handing it to me. I don't skip a beat taking it and slipping it over my head, but give her a warning look. "He's asleep." She explains.

"I know she's upset, but she can't go with us." I whisper, asleep or not, I'm not taking a chance of him hearing us.

"So you're just going to leave her here?"

I fill her in on Damon being at a hotel up the beach and that he's expecting her around seven. My eyes cutting to the alarm clock on my bedside table, it's 6:40.

Caroline seems to be considering something, taking a seat on my bed. "What?" I ask.

She sighs, "Maybe I can talk him out of the hybrid thing."

"Oh my God, Caroline." It's falling apart. I'm falling apart. She's falling apart. I have one shot at this, and we're both crumbling.

"Stefan… I love him." And there it is.

I start to pace – wondering if my only confidant has been absorbed by my enemy. She knows better than to continue, allowing me to try to process this. I have my hands on the back of my head, walking back and forth when Elena opens the door, dressed and ready to leave.

My arms drop to my sides in defeat. We could just stay like this. The four of us. I don't have control of myself. I cross the room and scoop Elena into my arms, hugging her like I'll never see her again.

She turns her face into my neck and I can feel her mouth form the words against my ear "Turn me."

"WHAT?" Caroline nearly yells. I should turn and give her a scolding look, but I can't move. What is Elena saying? She wants to be a vampire? Why? To be with me? To be with Damon? To keep Klaus from taking her blood? Elena can see the confusion in my eyes, pulling away from me, my hands on her hips and hers resting on my forearms.

"If you don't do it, Damon will. It'll just hurt him more when he finds out he turned me so I could be with you."

"You don't have to do this, I'm going to take care of Klaus tonight. It's okay." I do not comprehend, her words sound like she's speaking them too fast or too slow.

"Stefan." Her hands cup my face. "I don't need anything but you. Turn me. I want to be with you."

I think I hear her say she wants me to turn her because she wants to be with me. Visions of us, together for eternity tear through me. I didn't know it until that moment, but I've secretly wanted her to turn since I met her. I wonder, why haven't we thought about this before, then I remember. Klaus will kill us. He will kill Elena, Damon, Caroline, me… and anyone else he needs to kill in order burn out his anger.

I step away from her, "No."

"Yes." She counters.

"Elena, he'll kill us. It won't matter if you're immortal because you won't make it through the rest of the night." The thought is sobering.

I find my balance.

"You need to leave. Damon is expecting you." My words are cutting her; I can see the pain in her endless brown eyes. "Please, go."

Elena sat in the guest room, listening to Klaus and Stefan joking about their feast at the Temple, not sure what to make of that. When the front door closed, Elena sat perfectly still, giving them time to get some distance away from the condo, then slipped on her jacket. She looked out of the windows, the ocean growing darker with the night, sending a silent prayer that God would be with Stefan, help him conquer Klaus, then turned and left the condo.

Stefan gave her some rough directions and a handful of euro, but said nothing. He didn't kiss her goodbye, he didn't prolong it. Clean cut. Something inside her continued to haunt her with the feeling that she'd never see him again.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 13

Bonnie was waiting outside of the hotel when Elena's cab pulled up. Night had fallen and the hotel was lit up in lights and candles, a piano sending music pouring from the bar just inside the lobby. They fell into one another's embrace beneath the canopy – Elena in need of a friendly face and Bonnie happy to see Elena was safe.

"What are you doing here?" Elena finally questioned, looking at Bonnie in disbelief.

"When we heard that Klaus kidnapped you, Jeremy and I made Damon come get you?"

_Bonnie and Jeremy made Damon come. Stefan didn't ask Damon? Damon wasn't part of this plan at all? _ Elena's thoughts were flowing faster than she could handle.

"Jeremy's here?" She asked, trying to organize things in her mind.

"And Rebekah… " Bonnie rolled her eyes, aggravated by the just the thought. "She helped us with a plane though, so…"

"Bonnie, I've got to talk to Damon. I think Stefan and Caroline are in serious trouble." Elena spoke as she pulled Bonnie behind her, entering the hotel but not sure where she was going. Bonnie kept up, then led Elena to Damon's room on the 3rd floor. They didn't have to knock – when Damon heard them coming down the hall, he opened the door and was sitting in the arm chair in his suite sipping a glass of champagne when they arrived.

"Ah, the fair Elena…" Damon smiled, Elena noticed something was off about it, but she didn't have time to decipher it. "You don't look like you're in danger to me."

"I'm not. It's Stefan and Caroline." Elena crossed her arms in front of her, holding her elbows. "I don't know the details but there taking Klaus to some sort of Temple tonight, they're going to kill him or something. They kept saying 'neutralize'…"

Damon's smug expression relaxed to something else, something that Elena had a hard time reading. She started to speak again - interrupted by a soft, female voice, "oh E-ley-nah… do you have not a cautious bone in that wretched body of yours?"

Rebekah was leaning in the door frame of the kitchenette just off to Damon's right – she'd heard it all.

Damon stood from his seat, immediately on the offensive with Rebekah. That tiny slice of information was enough to sober him from his anger and hurt. For the time being, Stefan was not his enemy. Jeremy moved slowly to the door, turning the lock as he closed it, then took a protective step in front of Bonnie. He knew Damon would protect Elena, but he wasn't sure if he'd keep Bonnie safe.

"That's not enough information for either of us to go running off to play hero." Damon gave a sly smile, "Saving our siblings and what not. It's getting kind of old, huh?"

Rebekah's eyes squinted at him, then to Elena, a confident smile on her face. Elena opened her mouth to try and explain or throw her off, she wasn't sure, but Rebekah was suddenly moving toward them, breaking Damon's neck then grabbing her by the nape of her neck in a swift, seemless motion.

"Alright then, Ee-Ley-nah, us girls are going for a ride."

Bonnie didn't move, she wanted no part of this. She'd only come to make sure Elena was safe. Now Damon was knocked out on the floor, Elena wincing in pain as Rebekah held her by her hair, and Caroline was working with Stefan to "neutralize" Klaus.

"Well come on, or I've give you're lil' boyfriend here the same kind of treatment I gave to Damon."

Klaus was fully liquored up, even beginning to slur a bit, and Caroline was playing right along. Stefan could tell she'd only had a small amount of alcohol and her acting skills really were pretty impressive. Pulling up to the park entrance, Stefan turned to Klaus in the backseat of the SUV with Caroline. "I hope you're hungry"

"Are we here?" Klaus smiled, looking out of the tinted window. "There's nothing but rocks and trees, Stefan!"

Stefan gave a boasting laugh as he stepped out of the SUV, the ground immediately sending a charge up his legs. He noticed it was worse than before, when he was scoping out the place with Lindsey. He had to look twice to make sure the reverb wasn't vibrating his pant leg. Swallowing hard, he moved around the SUV as Klaus and Caroline exited the vehicle. He watched Klaus closely, looking for any sign that he could feel the threatening ambiance of the ancient city of Paestum. He stood, slipping his arm around Caroline, inhaling deeply.

"mmm, what is that intoxicating scent?" He sighed teasingly.

Confident that if he could feel it, he was too drunk to care, Stefan began to start the short walk to the top of the overlook – Klaus and Caroline right behind him. When he stopped, they stood beside him taking in the hundreds of people below them, waiting to become their next meals.

"Well, Stefan, you have outdone yourself, my brother." Klaus clapped his hand against Stefan's shoulder. Turning to give Klaus a confident smile, Stefan was surprised by how quickly his face had vamped out, and how the sight of Klaus' blood red eyes and fangs brought on the piercing growth of his own incisors. Caroline followed suit, and Stefan couldn't help but feel a bit of excitement as he watched the helpless people dancing and smoking and drinking – unaware of the three predators stalking them from above.

CAROLINE's POV

I'm trying to stay as close to Stefan as I can, but he's moving through his victims quickly. I have only been able to take two or three to his seven or eight. Klaus enjoys playing with his prey and has set up against a large white rock where a couple wiccan's had been chanting and I can feel him watching us from time to time. The party goers are high on some sort of herb that makes their blood taste like fresh cut grass and they're oblivious to the bodies we're leaving on the ground. At first, it was a bit revolting, but as I drain my third, I'm beginning to really enjoy the flavor. There are at least three hundred people in this space the size of a couple of football fields and the various chants and incantations and string instruments are creating an eerie quality in the black night. I take a look up at the sky and realize there's not a single star in sight.

Stefan stops for a moment, wiping at his mouth as blood drips from his chin, his eyes are bright and sparking with a fever that only other vampires can understand. I imagine mine are glimmering in the same fashion. "Let's go further in. I want to give them a reason to pray." His voice is chilling, and I give him a look of concern, hoping that the drama with Elena this afternoon wasn't enough to knock him off of his recovery wagon.

Klaus stands, his face alight with the thrill of Stefan's idea, and within minutes he's leading the three of us deeper into the open field, closer and closer to the remains of the Temples. Stefan's firm, yet eager expression seems to change when his eyes catch sight of a girl who is staring at him from against a huge white pillar. I take a good look at her and realize she is not at all scared of us, covered in blood and smiling in the delight of it. I'm still watching her, watching Stefan, when I hear the first of the screams cutting through the cold air as a man's head rolls past my feet.

"YES!" Klaus hollers with glee, "Where is your wiccan God, now?" He taunts aloud with a joy in his voice that makes me feel sick. He dragging the headless corpse by its collar and the crowd begins to run in a hundred different directions. My eyes are frozen on Klaus, the Klaus that I've fallen in love with, as he licks the blood dripping from the severed neck and winks at me.

Stefan doesn't stop, he's moving further into the panicking crowd, on a direct line to the unafraid girl that won't stop staring at him.

"Klaus, take a look at this one." He gestures to her as she stands tall, unwavering in the direct line of we predators. Her chilling calm catches Klaus off guard, I can tell by the way his eyebrows knit together for a moment before his smile is recovered. As he moves to stand with Stefan, the girl slowly turns her head and inside the ruins of the Temple are four more people. They are straight faced, daring us to rip through their throats.

"Vampires…" I think I recognize that guy that scoffs down at us – he's dark complexioned, his scruffy hair spiked to the side, eyes on fire. "So arrogant."

His words are a kindle to Klaus' ever burning rage and, with vampire speed; he's suddenly standing atop the ruins, directly in front of the antagonist. I think I hear Stefan give a small sigh of relief and I realize this is part of his plan. These people attempting to contend with us are the powerful army of witches that he's gathered to defeat Klaus. This broken down piece of stone, with its pillars and hidden passages is his Temple.

Klaus isn't standing in the temple for no more than a few seconds when I feel the ground begin to rumble beneath my feet and the witches form a wide berth circle around the man I love.

DAMON's POV

I wake to the sickening sway of riding in the backseat of a car driving far too fast and quickly sit up to assess the situation. My neck feels like it's been broken – as I grasp it with my hand, I remember Rebekah. Jeremy is driving the vehicle, it's some kind of sports car and he's weaving in and out of traffic, tailing the Porche SUV that I'd rented in Rome. I look at Jeremy and realize that he's not the same helpless kid that I'd once sent to Denver for safe keeping. I'm thrown back against the seat as he drops a gear and floors the car, passing a few cars and driving in the wrong lane.

"Sorry." His voice is exceptionally calm. "Get up here. I could use the extra set of eyes."

I don't respond, just climb into the front passenger seat and buckle up. I'm a vampire and we heal, but what's the point in getting hurt any more than I have to?

"I have no idea where we're going, but we've already gone about 50 miles…" He drops the gear again and we're nearly on the tail of the rented SUV that Rebekah, Elena, and Bonnie are in.

"Where did this car come from?" I gasp, spotting the red oval logo of Bugatti. If it's what I think it is, it's worth a little more than a million dollars.

Jeremy gives a sly smile, popping the clutch and changing gears to maneuver around an oncoming vehicle. "I'm an at risk teen… I know how to steal a car."

The Porsche SUV slows and turns suddenly, for a moment I fear it's going to roll on its side, but it stays upright and Jeremy reacts quickly – dropping gears to use the transmission to slow us enough to drift into a turn like I'd only seen on movies. For the first time since I'd met Jeremy, I'm impressed with the kid.

"Did that say National Park?" He questions as we fly by a sign lit by an up-light. We're moving too fast and I didn't see what it said. But I spent quite a few years in Italy and I'm pretty sure I know where we're at, but I have no idea why Stefan would choose some wiccan ruins as a place to attack Klaus. He may be a lot of things, but Stefan is no warlock.

STEFAN's POV

I don't know how it's happening, but our plan is working. Klaus still thinks he has the upper hand, I can tell by the swagger in his walk as he tries to intimidate the circle of witches surrounding him. He doesn't even notice their minuet movements, leading him further into the Temple.  
>"I believe you need to be taught a lesson, witch." He hisses, still smiling, he's sure he's in no danger.<p>

Caroline is a statue next to me, watching – she knows it's over.

When the five of them begin to chant, Klaus still believes he is untouchable and he gives a low chuckle. He's taunting them, and for the smallest moment, I feel sorry for him. Lindsey, Cruz, Tomas, Ana, and Gia take each other's hands just as the ground hits a new level of rumble. It's moving powerfully beneath me and Caroline reaches for me, fearful and broken. The circle of witches raises their hands to the sky and a crash of thunder like I've never heard bellows from the blackness of the sky. Klaus reaches for the throat of Cruz, but when his hand does not reach, his face is awash with terror. His eyes search for me and when they make contact with my face, I feel my smile spread across my face. I am a predator, I am a vampire, I am a monster, and I can say that being able to take down Klaus fills me with a pleasure that I cannot describe.

He tries again, this time reaching for Gia, the youngest of the witches – just a child, really – but their protection keeps him from being able to harm them as they call to their God. I don't understand what their saying, speaking to the sky in an ancient form of Latin, but as Klaus falls to his knees in agony, I can imagine what they are chanting. I catch Caroline in the corner of my eye as her body rocks forward, as if she's going to try to rescue him, and I wrap my arms around her, pulling her back against my front and she screams for Klaus, tears running down her blood stained cheeks.

The sky parts with the force of the thunder and lightening, the wind whipping through the pillars creates an unnerving moan, and the quaking ground gains power once more. The crumbling stone appears to be giving way, but the circle of witches do not seem aware, they keep on with their chanting – louder and faster with each verse. Klaus is on his side in the fetal position, screaming for help, calling for Caroline, even calling for me. I will not come to him. I will not allow Caroline to aid him. I'm holding her because I love her like a sister and she's hurting, but also because I want to be near enough to rip her head off if need be.

"Stop it!" Rebekah calls, thirty yards away, standing in the forceful wind and holding the only thing in this world that could make me stop – Elena.

My mind and heart fight for a moment, trying to find the best way to respond – Do I stop their chanting, do I try to take Elena from Rebekah's grasp? Do I let them continue, trapping Klaus in the Temple and take my chances with Rebekah? I want to drop to my knees.

Her scream does not slow the chanting, the pain in Klaus' voice is growing stronger. "It's over Rebekah. I can't do anything to stop them." I call back, unsure if my voice will carry to her in this hurricane like wind.

"Stop them or watch me rip her to shreds!" I know this girl, she is not bluffing. Killing Klaus will be of no value if Elena is killed in the process.

I run to the temple, terrified to step foot on its quivering stone, and call to Lindsey. "You have to stop. Stop now!" I command, pleading. "Lindsey! NO MORE!" She's not hearing me. I take a look back at Elena, her face contorted and unrecognizable with fear and pain. "Lindsey!"

She cuts he eyes to me – she can hear me, but she's not going to stop. I take one more look at Elena and see Rebekah is losing her patience, all the while Klaus is being swallowed by the Temple's stone. I move to step on the Temple floor when I'm jerked away, as if caught in the blast of an explosion. I land hard on my back, the air lost from my lungs.

Bonnie is calling loudly, chanting her own verses and the blowing winds seem to be fighting with one another. She gets the witches attention and after a moment, her strength brings them to a lull.

"Stefan. We cannot free him." Cruz calls to me. "I told you the rules, Stefan. We cannot offer a sacrifice then go back on our word."

Lindsey kneels beside Klaus, half covered in stone, unable to move, barely able to breathe.

"Save him or she's dead." Rebekah reminds me, as if I can think of anything else.

I look at Caroline, then Bonnie… they don't have any ideas. My eyes find Elena and I know what I have to do. I'll never be able to give her the life she deserves, the least I can do is give her my life. "Take me." I call to Cruz. I look at Elena when she gasps, I try a confident smile for her sake, but I know I fail when I feel a tear fall from eye. "Sacrifice me instead…"

"Stefan, no!" Elena cries, trying to break free from Rebekah's hold, but there is no use.

Cruz shares a quite word with his fellow circle members, then with a silent nod, waves me to join them on the Temple.

My feet are shaking and my legs feel like Jello. I didn't know that facing certain death would be so terrifying. For so many decades I could care less about living, but now I'm shaking at the thought of losing the life I'd found with Elena. I take the four steps one at a time – I hear Rebekah fussing about my slow movements. I can't look at them. I can't bring myself to look at Elena, Caroline, or Bonnie. As I step into the circle, I find Lindsey's friendly face and see her eyes are brimming with tears as the chant begins again.

The wind, the thunder, the lightening, the shaking earth, it all starts again. The electric vibrations that I could feel from the ground are growing strong and the pain is becoming unbearable. I stand as long as I can, gritting my teeth and clenching my jaw. When I can't take the agony any longer, my legs give way and my knees crack against the stone as I fall.

Elena screams for me, but I can hardly move, I can't see her as my vision begins to fill with a murky grey. She's calling for me, screaming my name over and over. I wish I could answer her. I wish I could comfort her, but even my eye lids are too heavy for my body to control. I think I hear Damon calling for me, calling me 'brother', but I can't be sure. Slowly, the sounds of her cries and the wind and the thunder, it all fades… I'm blind, I'm deaf, and I'm paralyzed… I'm numb.

My mind is playing scenes from my childhood – comforting my dying body with images of my mother, the voice of my father, and the warm hug of my big brother. My memories are so lifelike that I think I feel the sun on my face, I believe I am laying by the river with Damon and he's telling me about the war. I'm human, I'm hungry for my mothers potato salad, my mouth is dry for a cool drink of tea. Elena is sitting next to me, her straight dark hair blowing gently in the summer breeze. I can't hear her, but I read her lips as she tells me she loves me. I try to say it back, but she disappears and there is nothing but empty, cold, darkness.

DAMON's POV

When Stefan fell to his knees, his face blank and eyes searching as if he was without sight, I knew deep inside of me that he was gone. My baby brother, my sole responsibility in life – that's what mother told me when he was born – Stefan was mine for safe keeping. Now he's lifeless, surrounded by witchcraft and taking his last breaths, and I can do nothing.

Elena's screams chill me and I cannot help her, either. In this moment I am helpless – feeble and weak. Rebekah looks smug, but I can see in her eyes that she still loves Stefan and his death is hurting her too. Caroline and Bonnie surround Elena as she wails into the night air.

"Do something!" She yells at me. "Save him!"

I shake my head, no words forming in my mouth.

When the chanting stops and nature is calm, Stefan is unmoving; I feel a part of myself die. One of the witches, a male about Elena's age jumps from the elevated stone while two of the female witches kneel beside by brother's body. He comes to comfort Elena but she moves away from him, "How could you have done this, Cruz!" She screams at him. "You… how could you!"

I look back at Stefan, and he's so still. I start to lose control, my body rocks back and forth a bit – I'm so dizzy. I can't find a place for my hands. I raise my fists to my head, gripping my hair, put my hands in my pockets. Bring them together in front of me. I realize I'm gasping for air, now I'm doubled over, my hands resting on my knees as my insides try to purge themselves from my body in painful, silent heaves.

The witches are touching my brother and it rages me. I cross the distance in less than a second and they move away. Closer now, I can see Stefan's face, expressionless and empty, his eyes still open – and I know he was searching for me and for Elena.

I take his body in my arms and carry him over my shoulder, the best man I've ever known, my baby brother.

Rebekah watches as Damon carries Stefan's body into the woods, leaving Elena in the care of her brother and her girlfriends, and she's once again reminded of her loneliness.

"How much longer until my brother wakes?" She asks Cruz, her voice snobby and superior.

Cruz looks to her, then back at Tomas. "He's awake."

Rebekah feels as if she should ask in a different way, but she can't understand why his answer was so simple yet so odd. She crosses the field, taking the steps two at a time to the floor of the Temple. Klaus has not moved, but he's no longer wrapped in the stone encasing. Tempted to nudge him with the boot of her toe, she calls to Lindsey, who is weeping about Stefan. "Wake him."

Gia, Lindsey's sister and barely twelve years old, stands to face Rebekah. "He is not asleep."

Rebekah nudges Klaus' shoulder with her boot. "Then why is he still laying there?" Her voice is panicked. "Wake him I said!"

"We did as you asked, gave Stefan's life in place of your brother…" Gia explains, her childlike voice soft as a lullaby. "but he will not wake. The Goddess has decided that he does not deserve to live the life he was spared."

"What?" Rebekah screams, catching the attention of Caroline, Bonnie, Elena, and Jeremy. "This is rubbish. Wake him now!" She reaches for the girl and Bonnie starts to lift her hand to try and protect her, but Gia lowers her head at Rebekah – using her powers, her immense powers, to push Rebekah away. She raises her petite hand, palm open, then makes a quick tight fist, and Rebekah cries out in agony as if she's being crushed by in invisible force.

"You will not force me to do you're will. You will not harm any of the human's here. Or **I** will rip **you** to shreds." Gia hold her in her invisible vice for a moment longer, then allows her to collapse on top of the stone floor

Well, it's almost a New Year. I can't believe it. It's been 6 weeks and I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever get easier. I finished this semesters classes; 3.7 GPA. I'm still considering joining that sorority that we talked about… but right now I don't think I have the strength to stand alone.

Caroline is so sad, Stefan. She loved you. She loved Klaus. He may not be dead but Rebekah has him in a coffin – being in a vegetative state as he is, what else can she do with him? She gone in search of Elijah or Kol – hoping one of them can help her find a way to bring him back. Cruz and Lindsey say that there is no way, at least nothing they've heard of and if anyone would know...

Damon… is Damon. I think you'd be happy to know that he hasn't changed much, but there is a sadness to him now – an emptiness that I don't think he knew you kept full. He promised me that he took you to your favorite spot in Italy – a small field of wild grapevine that is nestled up to the river that you played along as children when visiting your grandparents. The image of you as a child makes me smile. Really, all of my memories of you make me smile. I find myself hearing your voice when I should be studying, or imagining your touch when I should be asleep.

Stefan, I wish I had done so many things different. I wish I could have loved you the way I did in Naples for the entire time we knew each other instead of confusing myself with childish doubts and fears.

You made me feel whole. You made me feel safe and loved and cherished and I know that I'll never know that comfort again.

My soul mate, the love of my life. No one will ever replace you, I will never forget you because I'll never stop loving you.  
>I'll die belonging to you.<p>

Elena closed her journal and curled up against Damon's sleeping body. It was nearly morning already and she'd not slept a moment. Instinctively, Damon wrapped his arm around her and it felt secure and warm. He was no longer holding out hope that Elena would love him like she loved his brother, and he understood that it wasn't her choice, it just wasn't possible. However, she did love him and he loved her, and their friendship would forever hold true. He would never leave her, he would not desert her, and most of all, he would lay down his life for her – just as Stefan would expect him to. Elena was now his sole responsibility, and he would not fail again.

EPILOGUE

ELENA's POV

My stomach muscles are sore from laughing, but I keep dancing. Caroline and Bonnie are doing the Thriller dance and I'm just bouncing along to the music. Spring break in Miami was a great idea, the change of scenery has really lightened my mood, and the endless flowing alcohol isn't hurting either.

"Do you want another?" Caroline asks as Thriller ends and a more electronica song starts.

I nod yes, and she leaves Bonnie and I on the dance floor. The song is somewhat familiar to me as a rolling flow begins to move through the crowd of college kids, lights flashing and the beat pulsating. I close my eyes, trying to place it, when I feel a hand graze my hip. I'm drunk and the music is hitting hard and honestly, I want to dance, so I don't mind. We move together with a safe distance between us for a moment, then his arm slides around my waste and he pulls me against him – my back to his front. Immediately we have a slow, steady rhythm. It's all bump and grind and sway, sexy and a little naughty. When I open my eyes Bonnie is dancing with a cute Spanish guy and I feel alive for the first time in months. "You're a great dancer!" I laugh, really getting into our slow cadence.

He leans into me a bit and I feel his breath on my neck, my body experiencing an urge that I'd been numb to since Naples. "This entire club thinks your mine." I'm shocked by his words for a moment, then my memory recalls the song - It's from the vampire club in Naples.

My mind places those words _I need to make them think your mine, Elena_

I stop moving, somewhat terrified – the familiarity of the way his arm is holding me, the sound of his voice in my ear, even the way we danced…

I swallow hard; I'm going crazy I know it. I'm far too drunk, or maybe someone slipped me something. This can't be. I turn in his embrace and look up into the greenest eyes I've ever seen.

I don't know if I believe what I'm seeing.

It's my Stefan, but he seems to have changed in some way, I can't place it, but it's enough to make me back out of his arms for fear that he's an imposter.

"Elena?" The Stefan look alike reaches for me and I nearly fall trying to put distance between us. "It's me." His face is covered in worry, but even his expression of concern is spot on. The way his eyebrows knit together, how his long lashes curl over his emerald eyes, even the way his mouth forms my name…

"No…" I sigh, my eyes filling with tears and blurring my vision.

Bonnie takes me by the hand, asks me what is the matter, but falls silent when she sees the Stefan lookalike. "It can't be…"

"Elena, Bonnie…" He tries again and I take off – sprinting off of the dance floor, through the exit door setting off the alarm, and out into the heat of Miami. I don't stop, for a long while I run at my full speed. I can't shake his face… it's nearly an exact replica.

Even in my heels, I get a good distance away before I have to stop. I'm on a boardwalk near a pier, there are still so many people around, and I know I must look like I've lost my mind. I wonder if I have when I hear footsteps running to catch me. "Please… please…" He's out of breath just as I am, I out ran him.

"You can't be! You aren't! Stefan could have caught me!" I scream, people are starting to really pay attention now, but I don't care.

Stefan lookalike is flushed and sweating a bit, "Elena… I swear." He stands and takes a deep breath. "God you run fast."

"I have to run from vampires pretty often!" I say in a quiet scream at him. He's human and I'm pretty confident I can protect myself.

Standing, he searches my face. I can tell he's trying to figure out his next move. "I saved you from the wreck off Wickery Bridge. I used my knowledge of history to get your attention in Mr. Tanner's class. I took you to where my father's house stood… remember?"

I remember…

He continues, each memory he mentions flashes in my minds eye. "The night we made love," He steps closer to me, treating me as if I'm a wild animal that may take off at any minute. Caroline and Bonnie have caught up and I can see Caroline inspecting the lookalike. "…when I was kissing you, my face…" he looks around at the few people watching us. "But you made me show you, you wouldn't let me hide. Do you remember that?"

I nod, how could I forget that night?

"In Naples, you asked me to turn you… you wanted to be with me." His eyes are so green and so honest, and so …. full of love. "You don't have to, I'm not…" he looks around again, "I've changed."

That's it… the change in his face that I couldn't place – he's aged a bit.

He smiles that Greek God smile that even now sets my heart on fire - he sees that I'm understanding the impossible, then repeats my words to me – words that I said to him in Naples, "Don't over think this, Elena… let me love you."

I'm in awe. Everything I could have ever wanted… he's standing in front of me, breathing oxygen for survival, not for show. He loves me… and my heart swells with my undying love for him. I can't help myself as I forcefully move into his arms. He's still so strong and muscular, but there's a softness to him that I can't explain… it's a human trait that he'd not had the last time I held him.

Closing my eyes, I bury my face in his neck and feel his lips on my shoulder, my hands grasping at his back.

"Elena, please. Please, never let me go." His voice is raw.

"Never, Stefan. Never." I respond, slipping Damon's engagement ring off of my finger and dropping it into the boardwalk and watching the diamond fall into the ocean water below. "I'm yours."


	3. Sequel  The Lasting Truth of Change

"I could smell something; that was the first thing, the sense that came back to me before anything else. At first I couldn't place it, but my stomach groaned for it while my mouth filled with saliva. I know hunger, I'm a vampire, but this was such a new feeling. When my eyes opened, I remember cringing at the sunlight coming in through the windows and how my sight just wouldn't adjust. My skin burned, it seemed to be too taut across my body and, though I was completely naked, the sheets felt like they were made of steel wool. It didn't matter – the pain in my eyes, the way my skin screamed – I wanted to devour the source of that smell. Standing, I fell to one knee as I tried to gain my balance, all the while inhaling deeply, tracking the scent of something warm and fresh. As I grew even dizzier, my squinting eyes searched the room. It was not very large, but it was open and I could see pretty much every part of the small home from my crouched position next to the quilted bed.

To my right were two arm chairs, plaid and dusty. To the left of the bed was a large oak desk with an old radio playing an Italian folk song and it helped me place myself. I was in Lindsey's grandmother's home. From there I knew where to find the proprietor of that intoxicating scent. With that knowledge, I was empowered. I stood again and took large steps, crossing the space from the bed where I'd been laying to the round kitchen table with a good speed, but lacking grace - I broke a vase and the glass of a picture frame, knocked over a bowl of water and a wooden chair, but I made it to the table.  
>The moment I laid eyes on the fresh loaf of French bread, I knew it was what I'd been looking for. I can't tell you how elated I felt to see it there, within my reach – still warm from the oven. I ripped the heel off and bit into it with an aggression… much like, well, much like I had bit into veins and arteries. The crust was tough and flaky, but the inside melted in my mouth. Dropping the heel onto the floor, I picked up the loaf and began to gut it with ferocity. I was elbow deep in the hollow crust when Gia and Lindsey come in the front door – catching me red handed, and naked."<br>Stefan spoke enthusiastically, making a dramatic scene to explain his first memory after waking as a human following the Temple sacrifice. During the plane ride from Rome, he'd practiced – being sure to make it seem as pleasant and exciting as he could. From what Lindsey had told him, what Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie witnessed when he died on the Temple floor was enough memory of pain and suffering for anyone to endure. Stefan decided that the edited French bread story was funny and light-hearted enough to share, less the details of his bleeding insect bites, blistered sun burnt skin, the sky-high temperature that he carried for over a week, and the way his body reacted after he wolfed down the bread.  
>He could only liken it to when he had the flu as a young teenager, but tenfold. He wretched up the food, the water he'd drank with Gia's assistance, and what seemed like gallons of stomach bile across the old wooden floor of Lindsey's grandmothers kitchen; ending the twenty minute vomiting bender on his hands and knees beside the kitchen table, covered in sweat and puke splatter, with a nose bleed like a gushing floodway after a heavy rainfall.<p>

Sitting around a large, corner-booth table, they laughed at the image of him standing naked with his arm in a tube of French bread. After the initial hugs and kisses and tight grasping, as if to test to make sure he was really there, Caroline suggested they go to an Ihop to grab breakfast and talk about what, how, and when. They'd all ordered, but he'd already finished his burger and fries - His endless appetite another trait of being seventeen.

"What did they do?" Bonnie asked through her chuckles, her hands teepee'd over her mouth and hazel eyes wide with amusement.

"What could they do… they didn't really know what to expect either." He smiled, sipping his second cup of coffee.  
>"I just." Elena couldn't take her eyes off of him, wouldn't move too far away; she was in awe. "When was this?"<br>Stefan could see that Elena was overwhelmed, just as he still was. Taking her hand in his, raising it from his leg to his lips and kissing her fingers, he continued, "Sometime in mid-February. The bread, that was on the 17th, but they said I was coming to a few days earlier." He turned his head and spoke to the group again. "Lindsey said that they weren't sure if their spell had even worked because Damon interrupted them right at the end. Once Rebekah took Klaus, and I guess you guys had left, they performed a locator spell. Damon had taken me quite a distance; it took them about a day and half to find me."  
>"So you were in a coma or something?" Elena questioned, a concerned look on her face as she, once again, inspected the man sitting next to her, not sure what she was looking for.<br>Stefan paused for a moment too long, telling Elena he was keeping something to himself, "Yea, I guess so." He cleared his throat, "I guess Damon thought the sun would do away with my body, he took my ring." Elena's free hand impulsively reached for the lapis lazuli ring hanging from the long beaded chain around her neck. Stefan's eyes moved to her, watching as she held it between her fingers, a knowing smile on his face as he spoke. "Cruz and Tomas came for me and took me back to Naples. After that I don't remember much, just waking up to the smell of that bread."  
>"What kind of spell was it?" Bonnie asked inquisitively.<br>"It has some kind of a connection to Lupercalia. Kind of like the original Mardi Gras. I'd unknowingly been drinking a spelled lamb's blood to help with my cravings, or so I thought."  
>Caroline laughed, "That stuff was terrible!"<br>"It wasn't that bad!" Stefan smiled. "Lindsey had used some ancient fig tree leaves associated with Lupercalia to bind the spell… I guess she was expecting something to go wrong."  
>"Lupercalia…" Bonnie sighed, "that sounds familiar"<br>"It probably is, given your family history. It's meanings have changed over the years, but the original significance was for purification and fertility." Stefan took three French fries from Elena's plate and shoved them in his mouth, chewing and swallowing before continuing. Elena lit up inside at how at ease they were with each other. "Lindsey used the time of Lupercalia to purify my body of what made me a vampire and give me new life."  
>"Seriously, this is insane. You're human?" Caroline asked, her voice neutral, but she was fighting a great wave of envy as she watched her friend, her mentor, devouring a plate of fries, just like a regular guy – her mind seeing fleeting images of blue eyes the color of a sun bleached sky smiling down at her, shining with worship.<br>"Pretty much. I've got a lot more life experience, but yea… everything else is just like a seventeen year old."  
>"So, you've got an endless appetite and are constantly thinking about sex?" Caroline teased.<br>Stefan's eyes cut to Elena as his mind registered the words.

She was all he could think of. Even more so than when he'd been a vampire and he couldn't help but attribute that to the ultra-active sex drive of the teenaged male.  
>Elena caught his glance and flushed a bit under his fiery gaze, but she didn't look away. They shared a silent, secret, and undivided moment – remembering the nights they'd made love, imagining what it would be like to experience each other again. Sitting so confidently, talking with her best friends, so enticingly desirable in a pair dark brown cargo shorts and a red long sleeved Henley with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, Elena couldn't help but want him - He looked both familiar and tantalizingly foreign.<br>"Better than thinking about blood." He finally responded, breaking their sultry gaze. Then added in a light-hearted voice as he gave Elena's hand a gentle squeeze. "Besides, it's a lot more fun to obtain."  
>They continued like that for another hour or so. Stefan explained that he would have to let go of the college degrees that he had obtained over his 164 years, and would be starting college in the fall. Saying that though he had money from the Salvatore family business it wouldn't last forever and since he could no longer use compulsion to get what he needed, he'd be finding a job soon. They could hear his eagerness in his voice; living life as a human had been an unattainable fantasy and it had finally come to be.<br>Nearing two in the morning, Bonnie suggested they call it a night and Stefan offered to walk them. Bonnie and Caroline seemed to lag behind a bit to give Elena and Stefan some space, some room to talk, but they'd been walking for over five minutes in silence, their fingers entwined. There were so many things to talk about – the time they'd been apart, how Elena was doing, how Stefan was coping, catching up with things about their friends and Damon, planning for their future – it was difficult to know where to start. As their eyes found each other once again, sharing shy smiles, Elena finally spoke – the first thing that came out of her mouth would have to do, she just couldn't think straight, not with him here, looking like he was, watching her with that look in his eyes.  
>"Why did you wait so long? It's been like a month since you woke up, right?"<br>Stefan swallowed, another sign to Elena that he was not being honest. "I had to get myself together. Learn how to do this again. I didn't want to show up at your door being more of a problem for you than anything else."  
>"You wouldn't have been a problem, Stefan." Elena hugged his arm as they walked, her head resting on his shoulder. "How did you find us in Miami?"<br>"Cruz."  
>"Cruz." Elena said his name like a fact. "I need to talk to you about that…"<br>"I figured we were going to have this conversation." He laughed, putting his arm around her shoulders. Elena's arm moving around his waist, thumb slipping in his belt loop.  
>"Why didn't you tell me that you knew him?" Elena asked.<p>

When she'd gone to Spain, she'd asked Stefan and Damon to give her space to think. Stefan, as she expected, had respected her wishes, or so she had thought. When she saw Cruz standing on the Temple, she'd been too grief stricken to question it. Afterwards, in the silence that fell over her in the weeks after Stefan's death, she'd come to understand that Stefan had asked Cruz to keep his eye on her while she was in Spain.  
>"Tell you that the guy you were hanging out with was actually a warlock acting as a spy for your vampire ex-boyfriend? Would that have went over well?"<br>Elena gave a small laugh, "Probably not."  
>"I just wanted to be sure you were safe. I wanted you to have a great time, something you'd never forget. Since I couldn't be there with you, I asked Cruz to help."<br>Elena cringed a bit, remembering her _great times_ in Spain – how she'd thought Cruz had a thing for her, just like the innocent crush she'd had on him. She wondered if Stefan knew about their flirty relationship. Her silence led him to continue. "Don't close up on me now. After all of the things we've been through, you making out with Cruz while we were broke up is not on my radar. Really, I'm fine."  
>"Are you sure?" Elena questioned, gazing up at him, the street lamps glittering in her eyes. "I don't know why I acted like that in Spain." Her words carried a lot more than an apology for her actions with Cruz – Stefan knew she was talking about her weekend with Damon, as well.<br>Stopping and turning to her, cupping her face in his hands, Stefan furrowed his brow "Elena, it doesn't matter. Not anymore. Just let it go. I –"  
>"Get a room!" Caroline teased, interrupting Stefan. Elena's heart hurt, wondering if she'd missed out on hearing him say the three words she'd dreamed of him saying to her for the last four months. Stefan's hands moved from her face as he took her hand in his, the intense moment over. "Are you staying here, too?" Caroline gestured up to the tall white and glass building they'd stopped in front of.<br>"The W?" Stefan laughed, running a restless hand through his hair. "Isn't this a couple hundred a night?"  
>"Well, if there is anything I learned from Klaus it was how to travel in style. Want me to get you a room?" She smiled with a wink.<br>For a fleeting moment he considered it, but his morality wouldn't allow it. "No, that's fine. I'm over at the Hilton."  
>Caroline felt a ping of guilt for a moment. She knew that Stefan never took full of advantage of the ability to compel to get the best of the best for free, and because of how much he meant to her, his opinion carried a lot of weight. "Suit yourself." She replied with a smile.<br>"I'm beat." Bonnie crossed her arms in front of her. "and I need to call Jeremy."  
>"That's something I need to talk to you guys about." Stefan was serious for a moment, his brow furrowed and eyes full of concern – much like he had been for most of the time Elena had known him. "I can't go back to Mystic Falls, no one can know about this - About me."<br>Elena gasp involuntarily. If he wasn't coming back to Mystic Falls and no one could know, how would they work out being together?  
>Stefan turned to her, "At least not yet." He continued. "I've never heard of a vampire becoming human again, and I guarantee you that if this gets out its going to cause a lot of trouble and bring a lot of unwanted visitors our way."<br>"So what are you going to do? Stay in Miami forever?" Caroline questioned, irritation on her face.  
>Stefan ran his hand roughly across his forehead, "Honestly, I haven't got that far yet… as soon as I could, I got my things and came to find Elena."<br>"Is she in danger?" Bonnie asked, eyes widening.  
>"No, not that I know of." Stefan felt bad that he laughed a bit at Bonnie's immediate reaction. It was actually kind of sad, he thought, how Bonnie was still on edge. Fearful of what threat was coming up next. "I just," He looked at her face, unable to contain his bright smile. "I can't live without her." <p>

CHAPTER 2  
>ELENA's POV<p>

"Stefan, wait!" I'd love to say that I don't know what came over me, why I called for him to stop walking away, but I am fully aware of what I'm doing – of what I want. He stops, turning on his heel with this champion smile on his Greek God face; he knows what I want too.  
>"Elena!" Bonnie scorns. With just the saying of my name I know what she's thinking. <em>Elena, you're engaged to his brother. You can't go off to his hotel room with him. This is not a good idea.<br>_I ignore the Bonnie-voice playing in my head and without another word or even a 'see ya later' look their way, I jog off towards Stefan.  
>His eyes are asking me if I'm sure as I make my way to him and take his hand in mine, I nod. I am sure. In almost nineteen years of living I've been sure of very few things the way I am sure I want to be with this man. I don't want to let him out of my sight, and that ninety seconds or so when he was headed to his hotel and I was going to the room I am sharing with Bonnie and Caroline – when I wasn't touching him, that was enough. I am his, he is mine. I want to let him do all the things his gaze is telling me he wants to do to me. For the slightest of moments, I think he's going to tell me to go back to the girls, but he doesn't. He slides arm around my shoulder and we start off to his hotel.<p>

The moment he closes the hotel room door there is a feeling. A thick, chest-pressure feeling that causes my body to feel somewhat tingly from toes to the tips of my fingers. My breathing has increased – shallower, but much quicker than normal. I find a seat on the single chair in the room, biting my lip and for some reason, finding it difficult to look at him. Stefan's not having that trouble at all - I can sense his eyes on me and as anxious as I am, I like it.  
>"Do you feel that?" He asks, his voice husky and soft. I look up at him. I do feel it, every time we've been in a room alone together since he was released from Klaus' compulsion; it's been there, taunting me.<br>"Yes."  
>"I thought I'd imagined it, when I'd think of you. Or thought maybe it had something to do with you being human and me a vampire… but it's still there," He was standing, leaning against the desk, facing me, his arms at his sides and fingers grasping the desktop. "it's like…" He fell silent, searching for words.<p>

"Gravity." I complete his thoughts, my eyes finally gaining the courage to look up at him. He's beautiful – there's no other word to describe Stefan Salvatore. "Like a magnetic pull."  
>He nods with an easy smile.<br>"Do you still love me?" He asks flatly. I look into his eyes and I think I see fear, or maybe doubt, I can't tell, but whatever it is it breaks me.  
>I can't answer him. Not because I don't love him, because I love him so much that I know my words could never explain. With my brain unable to describe my emotions, I allow my heart to take over as I stand and close the distance between us, stopping just short of being against him. He's still leaning against the desk and we're eye to eye, chest to chest.<br>I look him directly in the eyes – his emerald eyes to my brown – then raise my hands, touching the sides of his face with just my fingertips. I trace each side of his jaw, down his neck. His breath catches and eyes close at my touch; I can't keep my lips from his.  
>When we kiss, I could die and know that I've experienced the greatest love. Everything is right – the pressure he applies, the way he sucks my bottom lip into his mouth a bit. We know each other well and quickly fall into a sensual slow rhythm. Before I know it, he's standing, pulling me against him, his hands pressing against the lowest low of my back. He takes a couple steps forward and I feel the bed against my legs, then against my back as he lays us down. The warm weight of his body on me makes my yearning for him increase and my kisses become more forceful, begging as my hands move under his shirt and I'm able to feel the roll of his back muscles. The way he's breathing, how his mouth is sucking and nibbling at my neck and collar bone, it's saintly. "Please, Stefan…" it comes out as a moan in a voice I hardly recognize.<br>He lifts himself up so that he's kneeling between my legs, and pulls off his shirt, then leans over me – looking at me like I'm his life source, his reason for living. His weight on one arm, his free hand pushes up the blue cotton tank top I'm wearing, exposing my stomach. When his fingers graze down my torso, across my navel to the button of my low-waist jeans, my body reacts and my back arches as my hands dig into the comforter we are laying on. He smiles wickedly, enjoying watching the effect he has on me. Whatever sad emotion that was in his eyes before this began has been replaced with an alert and scorching yearning that gives me chills of pleasure. "You're so beautiful." He sighs, stopping for a moment, looking me over. Suddenly, I'm possessed by my desire for him, unfastening my jeans and pulling my legs out of them quickly. Before they hit the floor he's on top of me again, our mouths devouring each other's kisses, our hands exploring bodies that we know so well.  
>"Stefan I love you, please, God, Stefan." I whimper as his hand pulls my right leg up and around his waist and he presses himself against me – I'm dying and alive and on fire – too hot and too cold all the same time. Every muscle in body tightening as he moves against me, his mouth on my chest, his rough hands on my skin, it's overwhelming me in a phenomenal mosaic of friction and heat and lust.<br>He kisses my mouth again, I'm unable to control the way my body is bowing beneath him as his hand moves up my side, across my breast and finds my face again. He rests his weight on his elbows, lifting away enough to look into my eyes. "I need you." His voice is quiet and carnal.  
>Resting his forehead on mine, he gives me a quick breathless kiss on my lips. "Please be sure, Elena... you have no idea how badly I want this."<br>"Yes" I'm breathless and lost in his unique Stefan scent of soap, skin, and hair product.  
>I barely release the word from my lips before he's at it again, now with more aggression. His hands are rough against me, his teeth tug at my bottom lip. He moves a bit and I hear the metal of his belt buckle clinking and I'm awash in the thrill of ecstasy. Once he's kicked off his pants, he kneels between my legs again, slipping his fingers under the waste of my black panties and kissing at my hip bone. He watches my face when he begins to slowly pull them down, teasing.<br>He smiles down at me, his lips parted slightly and a mischievous look in his eyes as he looks me over. "Wow, Elena…" he complements with a smile and I laugh, covering my mouth with my left hand.  
>In less than a second, something has changed. I watch as his eyes twitch a bit, turning dark, his shoulders and neck are tense, head cocked a little to the side. I'm lying in front of him, panties barely covering myself, top pushed up nearly over my bra – lightning flowing through my veins for him - and he's losing interest?<br>"What?" I ask, suddenly embarrassed about my state of undress.  
>Stefan gets off the bed, turns away from me – his back heaving as he breathes and muscles flexed. I wonder if he's vamping out - If he's going to turn back to me with fangs bared and blood red eyes. "Get dressed." He commands, I listen, something's not right.<p>

"I don't understand…" I sigh, slipping my into my heals and straightening my pants legs over my feet.  
>He swallows hard, he hasn't looked at me since the sudden change in his demeanor – he's closing himself off. He's put his shorts back on, but is sitting shirtless as the end of the bed, elbows on his knees and hands fisted together under his chin. "I'm sorry, Elena. I lost control of myself. It won't happen again."<br>I'm getting angry only because I'm feeling rejected. "Was I not just laying there begging you to make love to me, Stefan?"  
>"Please don't be upset." He turns to me, reaching his hand out.<br>I stare at it for a moment but I'm unable to resist – I place mine in his. "I just don't get it."  
>He doesn't offer to explain, but something in his eyes is telling me I shouldn't pry – not tonight. After a long moment of silence, he pulls my hand to his mouth and kisses my fingers, then my wrist. "Just stay with me tonight."<br>I sigh, I thought that was what we were doing!  
>"I just want to hold you." He adds, somehow knowing my thoughts.<br>I am exhausted. He looks tired, too. And to be honest, I don't want to leave him. There is no place I'd rather be. I nod and he gives me a sweet smile, a smile of relief.  
>As I climb on the bed, he moves up next to me and pulls my back against his front, kisses my hair and in what seems like less than a minute, I am completely asleep in the arms of the man I was made to love.<p>

CHAPTER 3

I wake up in a panic, anxiety coursing through me – had last night been a dream? I turn to my back and reach across the queen mattress; he's not there. I can feel my tears coming, I'm alone. It wasn't real. A reflection of the sun on a brass ring of the brown leather duffel sitting on the desk catches my eye. I touch my lips – they're swollen from his kisses. Coming to a bit more, I hear the shower water start. I let out the breath that I wasn't aware I was holding in a long slow exhale.

As I relax into the bed, a surge of joy enveloping me, I replay the intense foreplay from the night before. Closing my eyes, it's almost real – I want him all over again. _What happened? Why did he stop? He was concerned that I wasn't sure… that's just like Stefan._ At the sound of the shower door closing, I'm hit with a vision of naked Stefan in the shower and, without allowing myself to second guess it, I'm out of bed and undressing. _I'll join him. I'll be the one to make the first move – leaving no doubt that I am sure_.

The small bathroom is cloudy in a haze of steam from the hot shower and the glass walls of the stall are foggy, but I can see him – facing away from me. He's got his hands on each side of the shower head and the water is rushing down his body from the crown of his head. I don't know why I'm being quiet as I open the stall door and step in behind him, but I'm almost silent. I feel like a voyeur – looking at Stefan, inspecting the slight dips and rises of his herculean body. He has the shape of an athlete – firm and muscular in all the right places. The water forms a V-shaped waterfall from his head, between his shoulder blades and my hands move to touch him. He's deep in thought, still not aware that I'm behind him when I softly place my hands on his back and kiss his shoulder. He tenses and his back expands as he sucks in a deep breath, but he doesn't move. His skin is so warm from the water that I know my kiss must feel cool.

I move my hands around to his chest, one mirroring the other - my lips resting on his skin, eyes watching his reaction – moving them down his torso ever so slowly, giving him the chance to stop me. I feel the ripple of his exceptionally formed stomach, his navel, and then the thin vertical line of hair on his pelvis as he releases a low, guttural groan and his back relaxes with the breath. So quickly, before I can realize what's happening, he turns and pushes me against the tiled wall – my hands above me, captured beneath his – and his green eyes are sultry and burning for me. He's no longer a vampire, but my God he's graceful and strong, so strong. He holds me like that, pinning me with his hips and torso, staring into my eyes. His hair is a wet, sexy mess and the water beading up on his face, dripping from his lips, makes me feel dehydrated, thirsty for him. I arch a bit, my mouth begging for his kiss, but he backs up just enough that our lips do not meet. I see the pleasure in his eyes as he watches me wanting him, nearly panting. He moves my hands together; grasping them both with one fist– then takes my face in his free hand. I don't move as his thumb grazes my still sensitive lips.

"Elena." He says my name like a plea, then kisses me softly on the corner of my mouth. "You take my breath away," I liquefy. Moving slowly, he kisses the other side with the same amount of tenderness, "You own me, Elena." I'm weightless, my body a mass of nerves that can only hear him, can only feel Stefan. His hand slips into my hair as he kisses my lips, his tongue flicking against mine. It's a passionate, yet heartbreaking kiss – slow and deliberate, meaningful. He looks at me, like he's never seen me before or like he'll never see me again, I can't tell which, but there is a sadness in his eyes. I move to kiss him again but he's still holding me in place, "Elena,…" he sighs my name, "You'll be the death of me." I want to kiss away whatever doubt he has, but he releases me and steps out of the shower.

I stand there for a moment, a long moment. My body is on fire for him but my desire is slowly morphing into anger. By the time I dry off, I'm shaking with fury. I walk out of the bathroom, still pulling my tank top over my wet body and I lose it.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I yell, glaring at him as he's casually buttoning up his light grey shirt, his face blank until he hears me. "What is it, Stefan! Do you want me to reassure you? Is that it?" I toss the towel I'm still holding onto the floor. "Fine. Stefan it's you. You are all I want. Please Stefan, I want you to love to me! Please! I lov-"

"ELENA I KNOW!" His voice is loud and brimming with anger. "I KNOW OKAY!"

"What is it that you know, Stefan?" I ask sarcastically putting my hands on hips. My tone much quieter as the expression on his face is somewhat sobering, threatening.

He takes a deep breath, then pulls a pair of shorts from his bag. "I saw it last night, but honestly I didn't think anything of it," The anger in his voice is still evident, but he's his usual self again. "I didn't place any special meaning on it. Not until I saw that you'd taken it off."

"What?"

He digs in the pocket of the shorts and then holds his open hand out to me, the platinum engagement ring is laying in his palm.

"I couldn't sleep. I haven't been able to think of anything else since I saw your bare finger last night…" He lowers his hand, inspecting the ring as he holds it gently between his fingers. I remember how he suddenly stopped, the feeling in the room changing when I covered my laugh with my left hand. I'm think I can feel my nerves dying as numbness creeps across me. "I remembered hearing something fall, on the boardwalk – when I put two and two together I got dressed and went looking for it. I had to know if it was a ring."

"Stefan." I sigh. _This is just a speed bump. I don't want to marry him. I want you._ My mind is speaking but my mouth isn't moving.

"Just tell me it's not Damon, Elena." He looks up at me, his eyes pleading with me, his voice breaking. "It can be anyone else and I can let it go, I can forget anything and everything that's happened. Just say it's not Damon. Tell me you haven't promised yourself to him, to my brother."

My silence and tear filled eyes are all the answer that he needs.

He implodes, I can see it. I see him breakdown inside. I see the pain wash across his beautiful Roman face. I watch as his mouth shakes just before his teeth take hold of his bottom lip, trying to gain control. He's staring down at the ring like it's sucking the oxygen from his lungs.

"Stefan, you can't understand what losing you did to me. I…" I can't think of how to explain to him that I agreed to marry Damon because he was the closest I'd ever get to having him back again. "I haven't been myself. I love you. I just wanted to be as close to you as I could. I didn't eat, I couldn't sleep. I didn't want to live without you. Please. I kept seeing you, seeing you fall to your knees. Don't be angry with me. Not now, we finally have a real chance, Stefan please!" I'm truly begging – words spilling from my mouth before I can arrange my thoughts.

I'm shaking and crying and I'm in his arms, he's holding me. Calming me. I hear him trying to steady his breath.

"I'm not angry with you." His voice is flat, emotionless, but he gives me soft kiss on my forehead as he gathers my hair into a low ponytail in his hands.

"I'll end it. I'll tell Damon the truth – that it was a mistake and I'll give him the ring back. He'll understand." Even in my state of distress I know that is a lie – Damon will not understand, he will not go down without a fight.

Stefan releases me gently, like it hurts to pull away - taking my hand and placing the platinum ring in my palm. "No."

I look at him like he's gone crazy. "No?"

He runs both of his hands through his hair, drops back into the bed.

"What do you mean?" I honestly have no idea what he means by 'no'

Stefan sits up, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. "I can't do that to him." I want to scream _what about me? What about what __**we**__ want?_ But I don't, I'm frozen. Stefan, human, seventeen year old Stefan Salvatore is telling me we can't be together. After everything – Damon, the council, Katherine, Elijah, Klaus, Rebekah, the Temple in Naples… it's this ring keeping us from being together. "If things end between you guys, _organically_…" the words come out of his mouth like they leave a bad taste. "then I swear to you, Elena, I'll be there. But I can't… after living with no end in sight, being human again; knowing there is an end, I have to make things right with my brother before it's too late."

I wonder for a moment if this poetic justice is nature's punishment.

He's choosing Damon over me…

They sat in the silence of his decision for half an hour – the stormy grey clouds moving in from the Atlantic a background through the large windows of Stefan's hotel room. Elena sat in the arm chair, curled into the corner; Stefan on the bed – the magnetic pull still there, their love still fighting for the light of day. He wasn't mad at Elena, but he couldn't deny that he was angry.

For four weeks, while recovering from the transition and working to get the necessary documents together to start his life as a human, Stefan allowed his imagination to run wild. Finally human, able to give Elena the kind of life he'd not been able to provide as a vampire, he pictured their life together. There was nothing left to keep them apart. While sitting alone in the coffee shop where he'd taken Elena for lunch in Naples, he thought of what it would be like to propose to her, how her eyes would shine with tears of joy, the way her voice would be the most beautiful music when she said yes. Another time, he'd seen a young father playing in the Plaza with his two sons and he was hit with the overwhelming realization that he could have children. He and Elena would be able to raise a family.

"I thought about what our kids would look like." Stefan spoke in a scratchy whisper, but the sound gave Elena a startle after the long silence. His eyes on the tan berber carpet as they had been for a long while. "We'd have two, maybe three or four… I wanted to take them camping. I even sort of planned on how I would teach them to swim out at the falls by Wickery Bridge. Right there before where the river bends, where it's not too deep, you know." He swallowed hard. "I had this dream, twice actually… I'm sitting in a chair. The room's dimly lit and there are butterflies and fairies and just all kinds of girly things on the walls and on the shelves." He gives a sad laugh. "I'm reading a book to this little girl. This sweet, tiny, little thing… laying in bed, looking up at me with deep brown eyes" His gaze moves to Elena, his eyes dull from the war of emotions he's fighting. "She looked so much like you."

Elena didn't speak, her heart caught in her throat.

"I wanted to marry you. To watch you walking to me at the altar." Stefan kept talking despite his trying to stop, the words purging themselves from his mind. "I had a lot of time to think about this." He tried to laugh again, try to make it feel less like a eulogy to their relationship. "Before, I never allowed myself to think of what it would be like to grow old with you, it just wasn't possible and it was painful to think of. I wish I wouldn't have started down this road… I feel like I'm being gutted."

"Stefan…" Elena sighed his name, an apology.

"God, I'm so… I'm so stupid to think you were just sitting around waiting."

"What can I do, just tell me and I'll do it."

"How did this happen? When?"

Elena swallowed hard, remembering when Damon asked her to marry him, to let him turn her. How the first thought that crossed her mind was that Stefan would hate her for this if he knew. At the time, she dismissed it of course, Stefan was dead. But now, here she was having to try and explain. "It was a few days ago."

Stefan's eye grew large – he wasn't sure what he'd expected to hear but knowing that it was a fresh engagement, a choice made not too long ago, it was like another razor blade across his wounded pride.

Elena recognized how it hurt him, but she continued, he deserved to know to whole story. "I was asleep. I was dreaming of you, again. I saw you standing at the foot of your bed, looking at me wrapped up in your sheets…" her voice airy and delicate as if she were seeing her dream all over again. "You were smiling at me… like you do – playful and suggestive. I could feel it, really feel it when you moved your finger tips up my calf and climbed in bed with me. I swear Stefan, it was so real, I could feel you kissing me."

Stefan listened intently, wishing to God that he could kiss her now, but Damon's ring sitting on the bedside table was the equivalent of barbed wire, keeping him from getting to her.

"I guess I started to wake up, I don't know but the way you were kissing me changed, it didn't feel like you anymore. It was too… forceful, I guess. Half asleep I say, outloud – I say your name and the kissing stops and I'm fully awake and it's Damon. It was him all along I guess…"

"What? Did he try to –" Stefan asked, shocked and beginning to boil with rage.

"NO! No." Elena interrupted, "No, when he touched my leg and I reacted, dreaming that it was you, he thought I was reacting to him."

"How did that lead to _that?_' Stefan's words carried a hatred, dark and void, gesturing to the ring.

"After quite a bit of apologizing and explaining on my part, he told me that he knew I'd never stop loving you, but that he wanted me, and he was there and he wouldn't leave me. That was enough – without you I know I can't expect to have anything near what we have, Stefan. He asked me to marry him. And I guess in some way of trying to be near to you and make him happy I said yes…"

Stefan groaned, rubbing his face harshly with his hands. "So what, I'm like three or four day's late?"

"Two." Elena's voice was flat, wishing she could rewind time and take away the entire conversation she'd had with Damon in his apartment. "It was the night before we came out here."

"Why isn't he here? Shouldn't you be celebrating your pending nuptials?" He was growing tired of hearing about his soulmate and his brother – learning about their relationship was like taking a beating.

"He's packing up your things. Back in Mystic Falls. He's been staying in an apartment close to my dorm…"

Stefan was frozen, hurt, angry, depressed, alive and yet dying inside, terrified, jealous, exhausted…

"Okay."

"Okay?" Elena questioned, watching as Stefan stood – that look on his face, it was back to business.

He moved intently across the room, picking up his various items and shoving them into the leather duffel bag on the desk. Elena watched, not sure what he was going to do, but it was better than watching him sit on the bed with his broken eyes looking back at her. Once he'd gathered everything, he zipped the bag and slipped on his boots.

"Let's go." Stefan commanded, the duffel bag in one hand, the other reached out to Elena. "I need to get you back to Caroline and Bonnie."

"And you…"

He looked lost, the slightest break in his neutral demeanor, as he realized that he had no plans without Elena. "I don't know."

"I'm not going back." Elena stood – she could tell by looking at him that he needed her. Stefan opened the hotel door and extended his arm, ignoring her. "No." She huffed, crossing her arms.

They stood like that for a moment, at a stand still, an impasse. Their conversation in gridlock.

"O.M.G." Caroline's voice rang through the heavy air like a church bell. "We've been looking for you guys! Damon is freaking out!"

Stefan rolled his eyes as Caroline and Bonnie walked into the hotel room, Elena's glare still intent and burning into him. "You told Damon?"

"No!" She smiled, hugging him, feeling his tension immediately but ignoring it. "We haven't talked to him, but he's been blowing up your phone, E."

Bonnie took the cell phone from her small, yellow purse and handed it to Elena. It took a few seconds, but Elena finally broke her arresting gaze and took the phone. "He's called mine and Caroline's too."

"Why doesn't he just text?" Caroline groaned. She looked up at Stefan, their eyes catching for a moment – just long enough for her to see that something had gone terribly wrong since their departure the night before. It didn't take much thought to figure it out – he was bound to find out about the engagement sooner or later.

"He's…" Elena searched for the word.

"Ancient." Stefan snapped.

"Do you want us to leave while you call him?" Bonnie asked, uncomfortable for some reason, something wasn't right between them. It was like they'd just had a terrible argument.

"No, stay." Elena gave a weak smile, lifting the dialing phone to her ear.

Stefan suddenly felt a pang of jealousy, wishing he could still hear like he could when he was a vampire. When Damon answered, loudly, he had no trouble hearing him through the ear piece of Elena's phone.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

"I've been here, why? What's wrong?" Elena tried not to pay attention to the way Stefan was steaming up, bowing in anger at the tone and volume of Damon's voice.

"Oh well, I can't get into my own damn house, for one! Not to mention my fiancée is off in Miami and I haven't been able to get ahold of her for an entire day! Other than that I guess I'm fine."

"I have an extra key in my bedroom at home…" Elena explained. "Or just break the lock."

"Great idea, why didn't I try that?" He asked sarcastically. That was the thing about Damon, he was easy to read. When he was mad he was mad, when he was happy he was happy, very simple and straight-forward about how he was feeling whether you liked it or not. "I can't walk through the door, Elena."

At his words, coming through the phone a bit distorted because of how loudly he was speaking, Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline turned to look at Stefan – everyone coming to the same realization at once. "I don't know what the hell happened, but it's like someone lives here and I have to be invited in. You're the last one who actually owned the place so I'm going to need you to come back to Mystic Falls and let me in my own house."

STEFAN's POV

"I've been alive for months, there's no way…"

"When was the last time he went to the house?" Bonnie questions Elena, both of them sitting on the side of the bed; Caroline still standing near me – I can smell her perfume or lotion, it's inviting. I step away a bit, still not used to the way my hormones have been surging since I woke as a human. It can't help that I'm aching for Elena after last night, then this morning in the shower. She notices me move, looks at me with a smile and I wonder if she knows that I'm somewhat attracted to her.

Elena looks at me, then to Caroline, and I feel myself redden – silently reprimanding my internal teenager. "Not since Thanksgiving. We flew into Charlottesville from Italy and didn't go home for Christmas."

"Then it is possible." Bonnie follows Elena's gaze and I'm getting hot under my clothes.

"So I'm going to have to go back and invite him in? This isn't going to work." I move to the desk pretending to be looking for something in my duffel bag. "If any of the Original's see me, we'll all be in danger all over again. Lindsey and Gia, too." When I turn back to them, the mention of the possible threat has taken the attention off of me.

"Why don't you see if they can do the spell on Damon?" Caroline offers. "You wouldn't have to go back to Mystic Falls, no one would know anything was different, and Damon wouldn't have to change you, Elena."

I see Elena's eyes widen at Caroline.

Surely I didn't hear that right. "What did you say?" I ask Caroline.

"Stefan." Elena speaks to me like I'm a wild animal, rabid and on edge. It fits; I feel this dark, immoral malevolence seeping through me – thick and burning hot like tar. "He asked me to change. He didn't force me into it. I agreed… just like I explained earlier." This feeling, this is why I was a monster. Oh God it's all over me, it's sweet and substantial. Stronger than I remember it being when I was human – close to the strength it had over me as a vampire. I want to rip the sheetrock from the walls, set fire to this place. I feel like I'm losing my breath. I want to slaughter him.

"Stefan…" Caroline reaches to me. I think she can see it taking me over. Bonnie and Elena can't understand what this feels like, but Caroline knows that urge to annihilate, to destroy – even if she only knows a substantially lesser version.

"You're going to turn for him, Elena?" I don't recognize my own voice. It's a growl, a rumble from my throat forming into words. Caroline takes hold of my arm and I jerk away – I know I must look like a fool to her and Bonnie. Coming all of this way, confessing my love for Elena, tracking her to Miami thinking she would be thrilled to see me – to be with me.

"I only did becau-" She starts to explain, but what does it matter? She's agreed to marry my brother, she's giving up the life that I sacrificed myself for in order to be with him for eternity.

"I don't want to hear this." I interrupt

"Stefan." She reaches for me and I move away.

"Don't touch me, Elena." I hiss at her. I don't want to be angry with her, but in four months time she's destroyed us. And my brother, he's double crossed me from the day he came to Mystic Falls. Through my red hot anger I see him staking Lexi, imagine how he wormed his way between Elena and I. I remember agreeing to go with Klaus to save Damon, all the while he was forming his next move, taking every chance he could to win Elena. Now here she is, his ring on her finger – promised to Damon in marriage and for eternity as a vampire, and I'm alone. "I should have let him die."

"We should go." Bonnie moves towards the door, expecting Caroline to come behind her, but I stop them.

"No, you two stay." I grab my bag, already packed and I make a quick exit before I explode.

CHAPTER 4

ELENA's POV

"You aren't leaving me." I say to him. He's waiting for the valet to bring his car, bowed up and angry with me. Caroline and Bonnie are going to bring my things home with them on our planned flight on Saturday – that gives me a little over forty-eight hours. "Not again."

He doesn't respond. He's looking away from me, appearing calm and collected, but the way his jaw is clenched and his knuckles are white grasping the handles of his duffel bag, I know better. I step up next to him and cross my arms. We may be in a bad situation, but by God, he's not doing this again. Leaving with Klaus, then taking off to Italy… I'm not letting him make those decisions any longer. I hear him huff at my stubbornness and I want to smile – he's never been one to force me to do anything – and I love that. I look at him, so angry and beautiful. _This is what my human Stefan looks like when he's pissed off_, I think as a car pulls up and a valet hops out. I dismiss it, the car is far too expensive for Stefan.

"Nice car, Mr. Salvatore!" The Cuban valet hands the keys to Stefan. I must look shocked because I can see Stefan's amused expression as he opens the passenger door for me – still angry, but allowing me do as I wish. He doesn't really look at me, just holds the door.

"How much did renting this cost?" I ask, taking in the low, white two door coup with big silver wheels and small profile tires. I don't know much about cars, but it's obvious that it is new, fast, and expensive.

The interior is all kohl grey and as I slip into the bucket seat, it wraps me up like soft leather cocoon. After putting his bag in the trunk, Stefan gets in the drivers seat, closing the door behind him.

I feel sexy just sitting in it. My feelings multiply as his deft fingers grasp the stick shift and we peel off, leaving in a squeal of rubber and concrete.

Hour number one goes by and we're both silent. I'm searching for something to explain, a way to get him to understand. He's holding the steering wheel in his right hand, his head resting against his left, propped up on the door. The only noise coming from the cars exhaust as he guns through the heavy interstate traffic.

Hour two is just as wordless, but I've turned on the radio with the volume down low. He's not moved, but I'm getting more fidgety. I think this is the longest time we've spent with each other without speaking.

I'm daydreaming, about nothing really, my mind blank from exhaustion, when I see the Jacksonville, FL sign. – 34 miles away. I look down at the radio clock, amazed that we've been riding for nearly three hours. I've got to say something – we can't go on like this forever, can we?

"I need to pee." It's all I can think of.

He cuts his eyes to me, my voice is lightning cutting through the silence. Without really acknowledging that he's heard me, he switches hands, using the right one to change gears and he moves the car swiftly to the right lane, taking the first exit. He comes to a stop in front of an Exxon then puts the car in park. No words, doesn't look at me. "Do you want a drink? Something to eat?"

The narrowing of his eyes tells me I've got him.

"I'll come in with you." He finally speaks!

I see him standing by the door, waiting for me, with a bag full of his purchases. I can see couple bags of chips, a few granola bars, two bottles of blue sports drink, all in the bag, and a large bottle of water in his free hand. He sees me, opening the swinging door, but doesn't look at me, really.

Another hour later and we're moving in on Savannah, GA. Stefan has polished off a granola bar, a bag of chips, and is working on his second bottle of Gatorade. He got the water for me, and my favorite almond granola bar, but I haven't touched it. It's somewhat strange to be with a human Stefan, watching him consume food. As always, he's graceful and uses his manners, but there's no doubt that he's a teenager. He catches me off guard when he sets the nearly empty bottle in the cup holder and reaches over to me, putting his hand between my thighs. The gentle stroke of his callused thumb sending tremors through me.

"Four hours is as long as I can go without touching you." His voice is flat, but I can see a playful smile curving at the corners of his mouth. His hand is only on me for a half a minute before he's changing gears, moving to the right lane.

"What are you doing?"

He looks over at me, oh those green eyes, "Now I have to pee."

He hops out of the low car with ease, that athletic body not challenged by much, and I watch him jog into the rest area. I'm hopeful, I can feel my heart reattaching its broken pieces. The day is coming to an end with the sun low in the sky creating long, deformed shadows of the 18 wheelers and the scattered trees around the brick building. Besides the three tractor-trailers, we're alone in the parking lot. My legs are aching as I step out of the car, taking in a deep breath of the fresh, piney air. It's much cooler and my spaghetti strap top and strappy heels aren't doing much to block the wind, but I've been sitting for hours and ignore the chill, crossing my arms to hold in my warmth, as I step onto the grass towards a picnic table.

The sound of a big truck starting its engine startles me and I jump a bit, looking as it rumbles to life a few hundred feet away from me, when I turn back to my path, Stefan is beside me. I gasp, startled again. "You're still very stealthy."

His face is unreadable, he's glaring at me. Despite the obvious anger that has returned to his blazing green eyes, his hands cup my face affectionately. I'm sure he's going to kiss me and my knees feel weaker with just the thought. "Marry him if you have to, but please. Don't. Turn." His voice is like a sonnet – carrying more meaning than the words themselves can portray.

"I…" I can't speak for a moment, I've never been compelled but I swear it must feel just like this – like you'd walk through fire for this person, all they he has to do is ask. My hands find his forearms, steadying myself under his dizzying gaze.

"I don't know what to do, Elena. I want this, I want us. But I've got what fifty years to live? That goes by so quickly… I've been alive for more than three times that already and it was like the speed of light. I can't destroy things with Damon, my brother… not when I'm not enough for you."

"You are, I love you."

"You've barely had any time at all to work out whatever it is you feel for Damon. And what time you did have things have progressed pretty quickly so I can't assume things are just going to end. Without me around… what would have happened? If I wouldn't have shown up last night, what would your future look like?"

I think about it for a moment. Picturing Damon feeding me his blood then breaking my neck. Watching myself drop to the floor. Waking with the hunger of a vampire. My eyes a burning crimson, my fangs barred. Would I have gone through with it? Will I? My mind is slowing, coming to a stop – I would have loved Damon. Vampire or not, I would have loved Damon if Stefan had not come to me in Miami.

I shake my head, I understand. Stefan, good & moral, Stefan. "Okay." I sigh, agreeing with his decision. I'll go back to Damon and I'll try to forget my epic love story with Stefan, I'll try to be what Damon needs, but "I won't change for him."

Stefan's shoulders finally relax, his exhale releasing the tension he'd been holding tightly wound in his muscles. He pulls me into a hug and I wrap my arms around him. Since the back to school party at Fell's Park, when we talked on the wooden bridge, he's been my very best friend – even after all of this time, distance, all those elements of the world – supernatural and not – that has not faltered in the slightest.  
>This is yet another goodbye in our relationship of right person, wrong time.<p>

DAMON's POV

She's wearing those boots, the ones that zip up to her knees, they are shiny and black and hug the slender curve of her calf. My eyes can't help but follow the curve up her thighs. She may be a bitch, but that doesn't take away from her magnetism. I have no idea what she's doing here, but she's walking towards me with that sway in her hips that mesmerized me 150 years ago.

"Mmm, Katherine Pierce…" I nod to her. I'm still sitting on the entry way steps outside of the Salvatore Boarding house, trying to figure out why I can't get in. Wondering if Elena managed to get her flight switched.

"My second favorite, Salvatore" She quips and it stings a bit. "Where is that handsome brother of yours?" She stops in front of me, hands on her hips, curls piled into a loose, sexy updo.

"Who's that? Stefan… who knows." I don't want to talk about this. I haven't talked about him since I came back from Italy, and even then I just gave Elena a quick run down of where I took his body. Every time she's mentioned him, and it's been a lot, I find a reason to leave the room or change the subject entirely – even in death he's a terrible reminder of just how shitty I am.

"Damon, I'm serious. I need to talk to him." She furrows her brow at me, her cool appearance slipping.

I just smile and raise my eyebrows in a 'I don't give a shit' way.

I see her swallow and she purses her lips tightly. "Can you… when is the last time you saw him?" I think I hear her voice shake. She's either in deep shit or she knows he's dead. Either way, he's not going to be able to help her.

I look her over once more, deciding to clue her in – no need to sweeten it though, it was the most horrible moment of my never ending life and, you know what they say, misery loves company. "He's dead." She doesn't react. "Some disgusting baby witches took his life in exchange for the wonderful bastard we like to call Niklaus Mikaelson."

"Don't bullshit with me, Damon." I just look away from Katherine's stern face. Telling her about Stefan has just reopened that wound and I miss my brother today, just like I did yesterday, and all the days before then.

Katherine turns away from me, walks back to her car. I expect her to get in and drive off, but she doesn't. She just stands there, looking at her Porche.

There is a storm blowing in from the west and the trees are moving in the wind, creating a swooshing sound that nearly covers the restrained sobbing. I suddenly feel like an ass. It's quite difficult to make Katherine cry, but I've succeeded.

"You want to go get a drink?" I call to her.

Back on the road, Stefan and Elena were quiet again – Stefan's Itunes playing through the Bluetooth connection, the lyrics of the songs speaking words that they were unable to say. They'd just drove through Savannah, giving them a little more than eight hours before they were back in Mystic Falls, Elena knew.

"So what's the plan?" She questioned, her head resting on the cool window pane of the passenger side door, eyes watching as the world blurred by.

Stefan sighed, "I don't know."

"You can't think that you're just going to invite him in the house and then he's going to be like, okay cool, see ya later little brother who I thought was dead." Her voice has a ring of annoyance. Though Elena sees Stefan's point, agreeing to let things play out with Damon as they would have had Stefan not come back to her, that didn't mean she was going to do it cheerily.

"I'll explain what happened, I'll grab some things and I'll be on my way." He said in a matter of fact tone of voice that was lacking the confidence it needed to be believable. Deep down, he wondered if he'd be able to leave Elena with Damon.

She gave a sarcastic laugh, "It's not going to be that easy. He won't let you go."

"He's never cared before."

Elena turned to look at in with a shocked expression on his face. "Really? You honestly believe that he just happened to show up in the same place as you over the years? He loves you, Stefan." Elena took Stefan's hand from the stick shift. "If you could have seen him, that night… we had to stay over in Naples, at your condo, waiting for a flight back to the states. He destroyed the place. He was uncontrollable."

Stefan rolled his eyes, "Damon's always uncontrollable."

She started to talk again, but Stefan turned up the music in a way of telling her he didn't want to hear any more. It wasn't purposeful, but the car was filled with a love song, one of hurt and pain. The raspy voice, familiar to Elena's ears. Stefan overwhelmed with regret of his timing.

_I've been twisting and turning in a space that's too small  
>I've been drawing the line and watching it fall<br>You've been closing me in , closing the space in my heart  
>Watching us fading and watching it all fall apart<em>

"Who is this singing?" Elena asked

_Well I can't explain why it's not enough  
>Cause I gave it all to you<br>And if you leave me now  
>Oh just leave me now<br>It's the better thing to do  
>It's time to surrender<br>It's been too long pretending  
>There's no use in trying<br>When the pieces don't fit anymore_

"James Morrison… this is bad timing." Stefan reached to turn the volume down, but Elena kept his hand, wanting to hear the words, let them flow through her, cut her into shreds.

_You pulled me under so I had to give in  
>Such a beautiful mess that's breaking my skin<br>Well I'll hide all the bruises; I'll hide all the damage that's done  
>But I show how I'm feeling until all the feeling has gone<em>

Stefan sped up, hitting 90mph in seconds, turning down the music as soon as the song was over.

"What are you doing?" She asked, a bit frightened by the speed, a bit turned on by the way he handled the sports car with ease.

"I'm getting you back to Damon before I change my mind."

Chapter 5

STEFAN's POV

Damon's Camero is in the driveway, but I don't see him anywhere. It's a black night, with the rain and the clouds, but I'm confident in my abilities to spot him for some reason. Probably just a memory from when I was a vampire, a predator, but I trust my instincts anyway and park the Lexus directly in front of the door. It should probably go in the garage, but I don't want Elena to have to walk in the rain. She's asleep in the passenger seat, covered up in my jacket. I know she wouldn't agree if she heard my thoughts, but I don't think she's ever looked more beautiful. Her face is relaxed, her lips slightly parted, maybe a little chapped as they are more ruby colored that usual. I see a flash of the little girl I saw in my dreams, and quickly step out into the falling rain to wash the vision away. It's been close to a year since I've been here, but as always, it gives me that full feeling of home, and I feel myself relax a little.

Quickly, I open the passenger side door and slip my arms under Elena's willowy body – it's just a natural movement for her as she wraps her arms around me and nuzzles her face against my neck. She doesn't feel any heavier to me as a human than she did when I was a vampire – with vampire strength, and that strikes me as odd, but I ignore the thought and head into the house. I have no trouble walking through the door. All the lights are off and it's obvious that it's been months since anyone has been here. It's both saddening and good – this is my home, no one else needs to be here.

"I'm hungry…" Elena sighs, still mostly asleep.

It was nine when we stopped for subs in South Carolina – that was six and a half hours ago – I'm hungry too.

"I'll put you to bed and get us something." I start towards the stairs, but she squirms out of my arms.

She yawns, scrunching up her nose in this cute, delightful way – I love her. "No that's okay. I need a shower."

"Okay," I smile at her as I use my fingers to brush down her messy hair – I love her. "Shower. I'll check the kitchen."

It takes me a few minutes to realize I can hear her upstairs, going through drawers, looking for a change of clothes. I stop making the peanut butter crackers – it's all I can find in the kitchen of two vampire bachelors – listening, wondering how I can hear her. It's been a very long time since I was human, but I'm almost sure that my hearing wasn't this good. It starts to become a game of sorts, figuring out what she's doing.

Her bare feet cross the floor, she's in my room… walks into my bathroom. I hear her pick up something, the swipe of plastic against the countertop, then hear the water from the sink. She turns it off and I hear her brush her teeth as she walks to the shower and starts the water. After a moment of just the bristles against her teeth and the falling water, I hear the toothbrush hit the counter top again and then the softest noise of something falling to the floor – her top. I close my eyes, wishing I didn't have such a vivid memory of her beautiful body. I hear her unbutton her jeans, unzip, slide them down. My palms tingle at the memory of holding her firm, curved hips. The way they would come up to meet my thrust.

I shake my head, I can't think like this. "Get ahold of yourself." I say out loud.

I hear her step into the shower and when the warm water hits her, she lets out this throaty, soft, sensual moan – my memory is a tidal wave, forcefully taking over. I'm all over her; one hand in her hair, the other grabbing at her thigh, I'm pulling her and pushing into her and I hear that moan. It's right in my ear and it's loud and quiet all at once. She's breathing hard and I'm lost inside of her.

A loud clap of thunder brings me back to the kitchen, but I can feel the memory trying to pull me back in, so I take my phone from my pocket, find my Bon Jovi playlist and turn up the dock as loud as it can go.

By the time I hear Elena's feet padding down the stairs, Wanted, Dead or Alive is mid-way through and I'm working on my third Guinness. I can feel the alcohol washing into my tired muscles and giving me that fun buzzed feeling of light legs and slack joints. Elena steps through the kitchen doorway and I worry that the alcohol was a bad idea as I'm having a more difficult time controlling where my eyes are moving. She may be svelte, but she's also fit. I watch the long, lean muscles flexing under her bronzed skin as she walks to the kitchen isle. She's wearing one of my white, v-neck undershirts –thin and not doing much to hide that she's without a bra. It's too big, but she's made it work by pulling it taut across her stomach and tying it into a knot over her left hip, exposing an inch or so of her stomach and all of her navy blue lace boy short panties. I finally coerce my eyes from her body, but her beautiful face does nothing to dull the fire burning inside of me – the way her wet hair is twisted and somehow tied into a messy bun is calling me to slip my fingers into it. I am a charmed serpent, her body the hypnotic rhythm keeping me spellbound – I love her.

"If this is going to work, you can't dress like that." The words slip from my mouth sounding flirtier than I'd planned; her responding smile gives me a chill. I turn the music down to a more soundtrack-like level.

She keeps her eyes on me for a moment – she's got to know what she's doing to me, her eyes are wicked and bright – then rests on her elbows at the isle.

"You're a chef, Stefan Salvatore" Her lips caress my name as she gives a tease about the six peanut butter topped crackers I've left for her. I'm standing at the sink, with a spectacular view of her profile, the last of my beer hitting my stomach – liquid courage.

My eyes are moving on their own, down the curve of her back, taking in her slender body. I feel her looking at me, and it's got to be the alcohol because I don't care than she knows that I'm replaying the times we've been together. I'm not embarrassed in the slightest.

"Have you ever been to Las Vegas?" She asks. I have, but the peculiarity of her question breaks my unruly train of thought. She's chewing one of the crackers, inspecting another, her finger scooping up a bit of peanut butter. She turns to me, sucks the tip of her finger. I can't give her question much thought, my brain diluted. I take a step and lean onto the isle caddy-corner to her, we're shoulder to shoulder. She continues, scrutinizing another cracker, "those commercials on the radio make me laugh."

I'm pretty buzzed and I'm pretty distracted and I think she's being cryptic, "I've been in a witch brewed lambs blood induced coma for quite a few months, you'll have to enlighten me."

"Oh you know," She gives a laugh, a nervous laugh, I think. Where is she going with this? I smile and shake my head. "What do they say…" She scrunches up her nose again, acting like she's trying to remember – I feel my body move a bit, my lips wanting to kiss the small winkles on the bridge of her nose, but I catch myself before its obvious. "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

Understand me when I say it takes a lot to shock me. I've seen and heard and done more in my life than I care to talk about, both good and bad, fun and frightening, but this proposal hanging in the air, floating into my ears; I'm caught off guard. I narrow my eyes at her, blink in confusion – I need more information. "I was thinking in the shower about how we have a few more hours before we start our 'just friends' thing. I'll do it, you're right about all of that, so I'm willing to give it a try." She turns, resting on her right elbow, her left hand comes to my face – her finger tips to my lips. Impulsively, I kiss them. "I died too, Stefan." My heart breaks for her, I can feel her sadness in her gentle touch. "When I lost you…" I take her hand in mine, rest my cheek against the back of her hand. She doesn't need to finish her sentence. I know. "We've got a few hours. No one has to know. It can just be for us."

A few hours.

I look at the brass framed kitchen wall clock – it's ten after four. I look back at Elena. I look at the last two crackers. My eyes are dancing, I don't know what to do. For a few more hours I'm still dead to the people of Mystic Falls. For a few hours she can be mine.

"I love you." I open my soul. I've been holding those words like they were my last breath of life. I can't stop myself from loving her, from pulling her against me, kissing her like I know I'll never be able to again. My hands try to imprint the feeling of her skin into my memory – it's warm and soft and smooth and firm. My mouth memorizing the taste of her lips, how her tongue feels against mine. She's holding onto me tightly, I wonder if she's doing her version of the same thing.

I take her by the waist, lifting her to the countertop and swiping away the beer bottles, jar of peanut butter, and the remaining crackers in a quick, seamless movement. The shattering glass of the bottles hitting the floor doesn't even register. It's just her breath, her quiet moans. I feel her legs wrap around my waist, and I lift her with my hands grabbing her rear– she gives a wonderful laugh – I love her.

We're up against the door frame – I can't make it many steps with her kissing me like this. I lift my tee shirt over her head and the collar tugs at her hair, pulling it loose. She's working at the buttons of my shirt, but I'm restless and can't wait so I just pull it apart and off of my arms – eager to feel her bare skin against mine. I hear the buttons fall to the wood floor, feel her smile against my mouth.

I want to take her to my bed, but the furthest we get is the couch. There's no music, no fire, just dark. My heart is racing, my blood singing through my veins – we're skin to skin. She's trying to be quiet, moaning into my kisses, biting at her lips when my mouth is not there to mute her and its setting me ablaze. The feeling of her beneath me, around me – it's awe-inspiring. I have to stop, delay this, make it last. I spend a long while lavishing over her body – from her neck, to her stomach, her hips and her thighs, I have to remember this. She has to remember me, us. I feel her fingers dig in to my hair, pulling – she's impatient. She wants me. I flick my tongue against her navel once more then move to face her, leaving a trail of kisses and licks up her stomach, her breasts, her neck. Her eyes are wide, lips red and swollen, she's a goddess – breathless and wanting me.

I pick up right where I'd left off, the feeling anew once again. She calls out to God, and I smile, pleased with myself. Her nails dig into my arm, so I take her hand in mine, lacing our fingers together. "Please…" She whimpers to me, moaning.

Moving faster now - an angry speed, a punishing rhythm - I feel her body heat, the polish of sweat beginning to cover her body, see in her eyes that she's lost in the sensation. She says my name – in breathless anticipation and pleading for me to continue, arching beneath me, grasping onto my back and my squeezing my hand as she finishes. I don't want it to end, but I'm overwhelmed. Her voice, that way, it's the end of me.

I lay there, on top of her, spent, exhausted, destroyed. When I feel her arms tighten around me, I know that she's come down off of her high and reality has settled again. I lean up, my weight on my elbows, and brush her hair from her face. I kiss her slowly, the lust built up from a year and a half of desiring her from afar purged from my body and nothing but love for this woman weaving through every fiber, through every nerve.

I want to tell her that we'll be okay, but I've never lied to her and I won't start now.

I start to lift myself, but Elena's hands grab my face and she's kissing me, in that way, all over again. I smile. "Never satisfied, are you?"

I tense for a moment, that could be taken in so many ways and I don't want to ruin this – these few hours. Her eyes brighten and she gives me a shy smile. "Never. Not when it comes to you."

I kiss her once, slowly. I want her again.

I want to hold her. I want to talk to her for hours. I want to listen to her voice for the rest of my days. I want to live the rest of my life with her, I want to die knowing I can't have her.

She searches my eyes, reading my thoughts, then silences my brain with her kiss, her hands on my neck, and we start again.

CHAPTER 6

ELENA's POV

The buzz of my phone on Stefan's bedside table wakes me. He's vined around me; his leg between mine, my calf on his ankle. One arm under my head, the other around my torso, his head next to my shoulder. I can feel his gentle exhales on the bare skin of my upper arm. I'm not sure what time it is, but we haven't been asleep long. It was very late when we got in, even later when we made it to his room, who knows what time it was when we actually went to sleep.

The buzz comes again. I don't move, fearful of waking my Greek God from his deep slumber, but I extend my arm slowly, taking hold of the phone and bringing it back to me. It's seven o' nine. I've missed two calls from Damon.

The clean, untouched joy that I woke with moments ago is now draining from my body – our few hours are over. I look down at Stefan's tanned face; beg my mind to remember the way he looks at this exact moment – in the dim daylight coming through the windows, worn out from our love making. I nuzzle my nose in his hair, inhaling the scent of his shampoo, of Stefan. My phone buzzes in my hand – Damon's calling.

"Hello?" My voice is shaky; hopefully he'll think it's from sleeping.

"Did you rent a Lexus LFA or is there a super rich douche bag in my house?"  
><em>Stefan's car out front.<em>

I ignore the comment, "I didn't know you'd be here this early. I was asleep."

Stefan inhales deeply, his eyes opening and his hand sliding lazily across my stomach beneath his sheets.

"Yea, I've called you a couple of times." Damon's voice is sharp, I can tell he's frustrated with my being out of pocket for the last few days. "Come down and let me in."

"Okay. Bye."

Stefan nuzzles against me, kisses my neck. He's still asleep.

I shake him gently; run my fingers through his hair. He wakes with a smile. "Elena… I thought you were a dream."

I want to love him. Stay in his bed, never leave his arms. "Damon is waiting, downstairs."

His eyes harden, darken at the name drop. He's registering what I'm telling him – our few hours are over. He rolls to his back, leaving me cold for his body. He's purposely not touching me, steeling himself to the reality we are about to face. "You can change your mind." I offer.

He considers it, really lets it roll over in his mind a few times before rubbing his face harshly with his hands then rolls off the bed onto his feet. There is my answer.

He's dressed when I come out of the bathroom – back in my dirty clothes from Miami. He's wearing all black, a sign of how he's feeling, I imagine, wishing I had something gloomier to hide in, as well. We share a quick look at one another, then in synch head to the first floor to let Damon in.

We're nearly to the bottom of the staircase when he stops, turning to look at me one step above him – face to face. He's wearing a blank expression, but I know his eyes and I see the pain. Simultaneously, he wraps his arms around me and I cradle his face in my hands – our lips meet softly, slowly. It's sweet and tender; it only lasts for a few seconds. He pulls back, looking down, biting at his lips; he nods and lets his hands fall to his sides. I stare at him for a moment longer, kiss his forehead, and then step around him.

"Elena," He's standing at the bottom of the stairs, I'm fifteen feet away, my hand on the door knob. Stefan gives me a smile, then whispers "I'll wait."

I swallow, hoping that I can do this for Stefan's sake. I want him to be able to make things right with his brother, but everything inside of me is telling me to leave the door closed.

The sun hits me first, then I see Damon and Katherine leaning against Stefan's car. Just her presence makes me uneasy, a little scared even. "Hey, come in." I smile, waving them in. I'm pretty sure this isn't going to work, but Stefan wanted to try it before he was outed.

Damon seems confident that he'll be able to enter and is walking to me with a surly look on his face. I wonder if it's directed at me or because Katherine is hanging around – _why is she here? _His arms lift to hold me, but I'm behind the threshold and he's blocked. "What in the hell!"

Okay, here it goes. "Damon, look… something happ-"

"Hello, Brother." Stefan is behind me, I can feel his body against mine he's so close, his arms on each side of the door frame. I wonder for a moment if he's decided to drop the 'just friends' act before we ever started because the way he's standing against me is very possessive. I hear Katherine say Stefan's name in a way that makes me want to scream at her, but the look on Damon's face keeps my attention. His eyes are wide, round like that of a small boy. There is a smile playing at the corner of his lips at the same time they are shaking a bit. Stefan's hand slips around my waist and he moves me to the side – I can't tell if they are about to fight or hug, but it's tense. "You need me to invite you in."

"How? You were dead."

"It doesn't matter." Stefan is staring him down. My human Stefan is threatening his vampire brother. Damon doesn't register it; he doesn't see the anger in his face as he's overwhelmed with surprise. Stefan softens a bit, then steps across the threshold, taking Damon in his arms. I sigh with relief.

"I've missed you, brother." Damon's voice is close to silent as he hugs Stefan.

"Stefan?" Katherine, in her knee high boots and a black mini dress – an exact replica of me, an exact opposite – is standing next to Damon now and Stefan moves from Damon's brotherly embrace to Katherine's much less sibling like hold. Her arms around shoulders, her face in his neck. "I heard you were killed. I was so scared." I can't see his hands, but I imagine them low on her back and it's stomach churning.

"He's fine." I snap. Stefan's eyes cut to me as he releases her, but she keeps his hand.

"He's more than fine," She smiles; her hand traces his jaw, down his neck "you're human." We all look at her with wide eyes, "I can smell you're blood." She's saying it to explain but at the same time I can hear her words are laced with hunger, seduction.

Damon inhales, "I thought that was Elena."

Stefan rolls his eyes – I wonder why he's still holding her hand – "Elena smells nothing like I do…"

I don't know why but I take that as a wonderful compliment.

Damon grabs Stefan's shoulder, Katherine cups his face, again. "How?" Damon asks.

They stand on the front steps, Stefan giving them a rundown of what happened – just the facts, nothing like how he told Caroline, Bonnie, and me the story in Miami. They're listening intently. They aren't laughing at the bread story. At first I think it's because of how quickly he told it, with no flair, but looking at their faces, I see that they are envious.

"I got my ID and birth certificate from a document processor outside of Rome. Probably wanted by the CIA or something, but what choice did I have?" Stefan let go of Katherine's hand in the middle of his story, but he's leaning his shoulder against the brick with his arms loosely crossed and they're standing awfully close. I'm barefoot on the threshold, Damon still hasn't touched me. Stefan is ignoring me. I'm so lonely all of a sudden.

"Why don't you come inside?" I interject with a fake smile.

Damon asks another question, something about the car, as Stefan turns on his heel and walks in the door – Damon and Katherine are unable to enter.

"Oh sorry." He laughs, but I hear darkness in his tone. "I still need to invite you." His eyebrows jump, enjoying the upper hand. "Katherine…" Stefan gives a flat smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "There is no way in hell you're getting in this house."

I inflate. I feel so silly for being jealous of them.

"Ugh, Stefan." She whines, cocking her head to the side, hands on her hips.

"The moment someone pisses you off you'll turn into the bitch that we know you are, and we human's need a place of our own. It's for safeties sake, you understand." He's confident as he speaks, not scared of the vampires a few feet away from him. She's steaming mad, fooled by his earlier demeanor.

Stefan places one hand on each side of the door frame, then looks at Damon. "Damon, you are welcome to come in."

Damon gives Katherine a slick smile then walks into the house, slapping Stefan on the back as he passes, then comes to me. My eyes are still on Stefan as Damon pulls me into a hug – _play the part, Elena _– I tell myself, breaking my gaze at Stefan's back, now tense and not moving, he's holding his breath. Damon must feel awkward about the display of affection with Stefan here, because the hug is short and friendlier than we are accustomed to. I look back at Stefan and see he's breathing again.

"Why are you still here, Katherine?" He asks. I wonder if he's taking out his anger with Damon on her.

She steps right up to the threshold, inches in front of him and glares at me through narrowed eyes -I'm standing near Damon, aching to be close to Stefan. I wonder if she can feel that magnetic pull to Stefan that I do, even while in the embrace of his brother.

"Can we talk?" She asks, her voice is bitterly sweet. She's looking up at him, doe-eyed.

I think I see his body relax as he nods and steps outside with her.

I'm stuck in place for a moment, shocked that he is leaving with her. Finally I step to the door; Katherine has her arm looped with Stefan's as they walk to her car parked a few hundred feet away. Damon looks at me strangely, "You're going to let him go with her?"

"He's a big boy, Elena."

"He's a human… she can kill him." I strain my voice.

He laughs, "I highly doubt that she will."

My hands are on my hips and my neck is moving back and forth in cadence with my sentence. "Oh so now you trust Katherine with your human brother. HU-MAN."

"Katherine killing Stefan is about as likely as me killing you." He steps, puts his arms around me, low on my waist. "She's still in love with him – _Surprise_." He says sarcastically. "She came back to find out if he was really dead. When I told her it was true she broke down. I felt like an ass because I wasn't exactly kind about breaking the news so I took her to the Grille for a drink. We talked through some stuff – she's sorry for a lot of things." I can't believe what I'm hearing, Damon is forgiving Katherine. "She explained that she didn't mean to hurt me, but she loved Stefan all along. I was a way of keeping her from really believing it."

"If she loved him she wouldn't have turned him." I know this is a double entendre – he wants to turn me. His blue eyes spark as it registers, but he ignores it.

"She didn't, that was an accident… both of us were. How could she have known that our own father would shoot us? Anyway, she said that running from Klaus has kept her from being able to be with anyone…" _Don't say it, don't say it, Damon. _"Now that he's no longer a threat, thanks to my little brother, she wants to be with Stefan."

"He won't." I respond, too quickly.

His eyes flare with jealousy. "She's not the only one who wants to be with him, I see…" He snarls, stepping back from me.

It's not been a full half hour and I'm already failing at this game. "No, Damon…" I sigh, swearing to myself that I'll do better. I keep my eyes from looking out of the open door, looking out at Stefan and Katherine.

"No?" He questions again. I know I can play him like a puppet – it's something that I've known for a while and I've hated it, but now it's something I can use in my favor.

"We're fine. Don't let this get between us. Between you and your brother." I don't want to say his name. Being with Damon like this, it feels empty compared to how I feel with Stefan. He sighs, believing me. I lean into him, hugging his neck. I hear a car leaving and a few moments later Stefan walks back in the house, passing by me and Damon, ignoring our embrace as if it is nothing.

"What was that about?" Damon asks nonchalantly. I move to his side, my arm looping in his – mirroring the way Stefan was walking with Katherine.

Stefan trots up the stairs, "Don't play dumb, Damon."

Damon gives me a 'told you so' look then turns to go into the kitchen, his shoe makes a crunching sound. We both look down and there are Stefan's two shirts – the white one I put on after my shower and the grey button up he was wearing. They are surrounded by a handful of buttons sprayed across the floor. My breath catches as I remember us against the door frame. Damon looks at me – I can't take my eyes off of the clothing and buttons.

"What's this about?" Damon questions, an undertone to his voice that leaves me frigid. I shrug, unable to speak. He bends and picks up the blue shirt, inspecting the broken threads where the buttons should be. His eyes cut back to me, then into the kitchen. Something has caught his eye and he moves through the doorway that I'd been pressed up against just before dawn, devoured by his brothers' kisses.

Stefan's phone is still in the dock, Bon Jovi still playing through the speakers. The floor is a mess. There are saltine crackers crushed onto the tile from where Stefan stepped on them, carrying me. The peanut butter jar is cracked and laying in a pool of its contents. There is dark brown glass everywhere – the three beer bottles that Stefan drank from while I was in the shower. I remember the cool, sweet, taste of his kisses. "What the hell happened?"

I can't breathe; he's going to kill Stefan. My human Stefan. He turns to me – his eyes landing on me for the slightest of moments before moving to Stefan, who is coming through that memory laden doorframe.

"Oh man, sorry about this." His voice is so cool and slick, not wavering a bit. "I was so tired, I was delirious." He's changed clothes, now in a pair of jogging pants that sit low on his waist, a dark blue ribbed tank top, and a white baseball cap.

"So you threw your food in the floor, broke some beer bottles and ripped off your shirt?" Damon asked, his brow furrowed and lips snarled with frustration.

Stefan laughs, grabbing a beer from the fridge. "Damn teenagers."


	4. The Lasting Truth of Change pt 2

Stefan couldn't be in the same room with them, not sure how long he'd be able to keep up the ruse. After he spoke with Katherine, he felt a wave of aggression come over him and decided to go for a run to burn it off. Wound tightly, he nearly missed the tension between Elena and Damon as he headed towards the door, Damon inspecting the trail that he'd left from the kitchen island to the couch, but Elena's shaky breathing caught his attention just before he opened the front door.

Stefan made up the story on the fly – he'd totally forget about the mess they'd left. He hung around just long enough to be sure that Damon bought it, and then took off into the woods – his sanctuary, his feeding grounds. His thoughts of Damon holding Elena, of Elena's body against Damon enraged him - Each pounding stride into the hard packed dirt adding pressure to his nearly combusting temper. He wondered what they were doing now, alone in the house. _They haven't seen each other in a few days; you know what they are doing. _The thought coursing through him like poison, raising that sweet thick evil he'd felt in Miami when he learned about Elena agreeing to be turned. Stefan picked up his speed, the pain his lungs fighting down the wickedness trying to surface.

He'd been trekking at that wrath-fueled pace for about two miles when he heard the faint sounds of a rabbit, stopping him on a dime, feeling a rumble of hunger in his stomach. He shook his head, wiping sweat from his face with his hands, confused by his craving. It was so easy, a muscle memory - crouching low, looking for his prey. His eyes began to burn, his throat dry, that familiar ache in his gums. He stood, fear rushing through his body. His tongue slipping across his teeth – no fangs, but he could feel the veins in his eyes – they were changing. The rabbit scurried off at the sound of his panting and quick movements, and his eyes began to feel normal, but his heart was racing.

With her ear buds in and her music up loud, she almost didn't hear Caroline come into the dorm. She'd been at a late study group, but brought home Chinese take out to share with Elena.

"Vegetable Fried Rice?" Caroline smiled, her tired eyes betraying her otherwise bright appearance.

"Yes, gosh, I'm so hungry!" Elena returned her smile, "You're a life saver! I don't think I've had a decent meal all week."

"Tell me about it!" Caroline slumped into the love seat, curling into a ball and cradling the paper box of shrimp lo mein she ordered for herself. She wasn't even hungry, not for food, but it was a comforting event – eating dinner with Elena after a long day. She'd go out later, find something to actually fill her hunger. _Mmm, O positive would be nice _she thought, chewing a mouthful of noodles. "Thursday's are the worst."

"I hate Monday, Wednesday, and Friday." Elena countered, moving her books from the arm chair and taking a seat in their place. "Remind me next semester to spread out the load a little better."

Caroline's eyes widened, "That reminds me, I'm supposed to meet Stefan tomorrow for lunch. He needs to get registered for summer classes, but wants me there in case there is a problem with his paperwork."

"Oh?" Elena didn't know that he was planning on starting to school so soon – she'd just assumed he'd start in the fall when she came back.

"Yea, I'm like his back up. It's good to have a vampire around, huh?" She smiled. "He had me laughing so hard," She laughed a bit, recalling their conversation, "has he told you about trying to get his car registered?"

Elena hadn't really talked with Stefan since she and Damon came back to campus three weeks ago. It had been easy to fall back into their regular habits of Damon walking Elena to class then hanging out after her day was over. Damon had been in touch with him, but Elena felt as though she couldn't ask many questions for fear of raising his suspicion. It was hard enough to explain to him why she didn't feel like getting very intimate still – her excuse had been that she was still destroyed from Stefan's death. With him back, and truly alive, she had to find another reason… waiting until marriage was all she could think of.

Things were going well between the Salvatore Brothers, they'd met for drinks at a bar halfway between Mystic Falls and Charlottesville twice, and Elena heard Damon talking to Stefan on the phone a few times – it was a tight rope they were walking, but they seemed to be managing to stay on top for once.

"No, I don't think so" Elena responded, a bit hurt that he'd been in contact with Caroline, laughing about his daily trials and tribulations.

"Next time you talk to him, ask him! Make sure he's had a few though. He had the whole bar laughing!"

Elena cringed a bit – they'd hung out together. She looked at Caroline from a different point of view for a moment; she was a beautiful, energetic, smart woman – kind and funny. _Stefan's type. _The way he'd looked at Caroline in Miami came to her mind's eye.

"So it's just you two then? Lunch tomorrow, I mean." Elena implored, considering inviting herself along.

Caroline was flipping through her twitter app, not really paying attention to their conversation, not seeing the way Elena was glaring at her. "I think so, but I don't know what time Lindsey's plane lands."

"Lindsey's coming here?" She asked, her voice a bit too forceful.

Caroline's eyes cut to Elena, followed slowly by the turn of her head. "Did I say something?"

Elena shook her head. _He's single. I'm engaged. We're playing our roles… that's all._

Caroline stared at Elena for a moment. "What happened with you guys? In Miami, I could've sworn the wedding was off…" She sat her Chinese food on the sofa table, adjusting in her seat to be able to give Elena her full attention. She loved a good girl talk, especially if it was about a boy.

Elena considered explaining, telling her best friend everything – but she knew that Caroline sometimes spoke out of turn and if it got back to Damon, Stefan would be dead within the hour. She decided instead to turn the tables, get the attention off of whatever type of relationship she and Stefan had. "This is déjà vou… if you're scheming with him on another 'plan' of some sort; I want you to clue me in."

Caroline laughed. "No, nothing like that. He's just been kind of lonely lately."

"Why won't he talk to me about it, about anything?" Elena sat back in her seat, frustrated, appetite gone.

"Elena."

"What?" Elena shrugged her shoulders, not sure why Caroline was giving her that look.

"You know exactly why he won't talk to you." Elena examined Caroline's face. _Stefan trusts Caroline, did he tell her about our deal… letting Damon and me run our course._

When she didn't respond, Caroline continued, "He's heartbroken over losing you. While we had a few months to kind of deal, he was living in some dream world with you."

_Dream world, what? _– Elena wondered, her expression giving away her confusion.

"I swear, I'm an idiot." Caroline rolled her eyes in aggravation with herself. "He hasn't told you about that either, huh?"

"No." Elena said briskly.

Caroline stayed quiet for a moment, putting her thoughts in order, using her fingers to slide her blond ringlets behind her ears. "I know this does seem like we've had this conversation before. Still, you're going to have to just give him time. I mean, how you were in Miami… Naples especially, it was kind of leading him on, Elena."

Elena was taken aback. "Oh, it was? Is that his opinion or yours?"

Caroline flinched at Elena's upset response – but someone had to tell her. "Both I guess."

"So he said that? That I led him on?" Elena tensed with anger.

Trying not to roll her eyes, Caroline huffed a bit. "Well Elena, you did. You were with Damon but all over Stefan in Naples. I can hear like, everything, so I know what you guys were saying to each other. You let him drink your blood. To a vampire that rates up there with incredible sex." Caroline felt herself getting angry right back, what right did Elena have to play with Stefan like that, she questioned. "Then in Miami, I don't think you stopped touching him… going back to his hotel with him. You didn't even tell him you were engaged!"

Caroline's words cut Elena to the bone. "This is really none of your business, Caroline. Besides, you weren't doing a lot better with Klaus." Caroline started to argue, but Elena continued. "I know, it was part of the 'the plan'," She air quoted, standing from her seat, throwing her Chinese food in the trash, "but I saw you too… I saw you all over him. I've known you your whole life, Caroline… you aren't fooling me!"

Caroline stood too, matching Elena's anger. "My bad, Elena – I'm not as good at juggling two guys as you are. Maybe you should talk to the dean, see about getting a course going… Whoring Around 101."

"Caroline!"

"Elena." Caroline crossed her arms, already beginning to feel bad for how she said what she said, but still pretty sure the underlying message was spot on.

Elena was silent for a long moment, her voice calmer, but still angry "You know I love Stefan."

"And Damon?"

She almost hated to admit it, fearful of confirming the terrible things Caroline had said about her. "and Damon."

"Then you can't call me a liar, can you?" Caroline sneered. Elena felt herself coming close to tears so she went to her room in a huff, slamming the door behind her.

Behind closed doors, Elena let herself cry a moment, but anger soon took over. How dare he talk about her like that to her best friend… Grabbing her cell phone from her backpack, she found Stefan's new number in her contact list.

"Hey." His voice was robust, happy. "How are you?"

"How am I?" Her attitude was thick, voice louder than she'd planned, but she went with it. "Why do you care now? It's been weeks since I've heard from you, but you've got plenty of time for Caroline."

"Elena…" He sighed, "You-"

"NO, I'm talking okay." Her voice quivered, Stefan could hear the tears through the phone. "How dare you tell Caroline that I led you on. You know exactly how I feel about you and this is your little sick game… if anyone is being 'led on', it's Damon."

"What are you ta-"

"And now you've got some girl coming over here from Italy. What happened to 'I'll wait'? Three weeks is too long for you? Sorry, Stefan but I can't figure out the rules of this game. Am I supposed to stay with Damon to keep him from killing you or are you wanting to let me do what I want and be with you? Was I supposed to screw up somehow in the last three weeks so that Damon would break up with me?"

Elena was pacing, yelling into the phone, not caring if Caroline could hear her or not. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, Stefan!"

"Ele-"

"I don't want to hear this right now. I don't want to talk about it. I just needed for you to hear me." Elena swallowed, taking a deep breath. "Do me a favor and try to keep from running your mouth to Caroline, Lindsey… Katherine… and any other girls you're chatting up at the bar."

*Click*

Elena looked at her phone. It was almost like an out of body experience, talking to him like that, saying what she said. As it was happening she thought she was going to feel better once it was out of her, but now, she just felt heavy and tired… and she missed Stefan.

Elena's POV

I'm not asleep, just dazed, laying in the dark of my dorm room with my ear buds in listening to James Morrison – he's got such a great voice to listen to loudly and the two songs that Stefan had on his Iphone help my memories of him seem more vivid. I'm remembering the night in Naples when Stefan played Better Man and we danced and kissed and it all felt so right, when I hear Caroline laugh.

I know that laugh, it's the one she uses around guys that she likes, and I'm intrigued – I didn't know she had a guy on campus that she liked. Tyler is still in Texas and Klaus… well, Klaus is a moot point. I push the volume up button a few times and fall back into my non-slumber daze, hugging my pillow and eyes shut tight.

It's not like I've never thought exactly what Caroline said, but hearing it out loud from someone who's always been brutally honest with me – it stings. I feel weighted, my limbs harder to move, my thoughts cloudy. Maybe I had done Stefan and Damon wrong before Naples -before my trip to Italy where Stefan and I bonded again, really found one another, I was swaying back and forth between the Salvatore brothers, but it wasn't something I'd planned.

Sure, I'd been attracted to Damon from the moment I saw him, but who wouldn't be – it didn't mean anything at the time and I didn't give it a second thought. He was just the hot brother of my equally as hot boyfriend. Then as things started to turn for the worst, with the tomb vampires and Katherine, Damon became an ally. Stefan trusted him, so I did too. It was innocent. How was it my fault that he'd taken a liking to me and, to be honest, I'd figured it had something to do with me looking like Katherine. Even now I wonder about that. He waited for her for 150 years… I can't help but think that he must feel for her what Stefan feels for me. A never-ending, 'I'll wait' kind of love. Maybe he's subconsciously doing what Katherine did – loving me as a way of taking his mind off his love for her.

It started to go bad when Stefan left with Klaus. Even though I knew he was doing it to save Damon, and I wouldn't have expected anything less from him, it hurt that he left me. Damon was there – he's always there. Every time Stefan has left me, or tried to leave, Damon always stays. He's constant… and that's what I found so appealing, that's what pulled me over the fence. After two years of what still feels like constant loss I knew Damon would never go. At the same time that I was holding onto consistent Damon, I couldn't change the fact that I'd never love him, or anyone, like I love Stefan.

Naples changed everything, in so many ways. It was a glimpse at the life that I could have with Stefan. He had gained control over his addiction to blood and he was back to the Stefan that I ran into in front of the men's room at Mystic Falls High School… it was easy for him to smile again, to laugh again. By the end of that night at the Indian club, when he was carrying me barefoot down the ancient sea side streets of Naples, I knew. I was one-hundred percent sure of what I wanted – who I wanted.

Then his death… and I was knocked flat on face – lost and grasping for something… constant. Damon. And that's how I got to the position I'm in now; engaged to the brother of the man I adore. Standing with Damon and longing for Stefan… missing those grass green eyes.

My mind finally starts to slow – I toss and turn, but I sleep.

I wake to the sound of my alarm tone coming through the one ear bud that managed to stay in my ear through the night, silently thanking God that it held on and I'm not going to be late for first class. Friday's were review day and I had a big test coming up next week.

I can tell by the blue grey color of my dark room that the day is going to be a gloomy one – remembering something about a chance of rain for today, mentally trying to place where I stashed my Kate Spade umbrella that Aunt Jena had given me, when I catch something move from the corner of my eye. I catch my breath, a wash of fear coming over me as I ever so slowly turn my head, images of Klaus, Rebekah, Kol, the Temple… all the evil that I'd been forced to face coming to my mind's eye.

There's nothing there… it's just my empty room, dimly lit by the cloud covered sun light coming through the picture window. I let out my breath, relieved. I feel silly… then I see him. He's lying in the floor on his back, one arm beneath his head, the other lazily resting on his stomach, legs crossed at his ankles. Still fully dressed in a pair of jeans, black work boots, and a dark green thermal shirt, Stefan is asleep in the floor of my dorm room. Despite the sudden memory of my telephone rant from the previous night, I smile. My beautiful Greek God – I haven't laid eyes on him in three weeks and my God is he not the most handsome man I've ever seen. I think he's put on some weight, muscle I decide, as my eyes inspect the way his shirt is laying over his shaped chest. There is something different about his face, too… what is it? It's just a subtle change and I can't place it. I want a closer look.

I don't worry about crossing some kind of boundary when I move from my bed and stand over him, my feet on each side of his body, bending to examine his face. I'm not in that position for more than two or three seconds before he smiles, eyes still closed, and I'm lit from within.

"Are you straddling me for a reason?" His sleepy voice laced with a mischievous tone. His hand moves from his stomach, wraps around my ankle.

"What are you doing here?" I try to sound like I'm not giddy, like I don't want to squeal and giggle.

When he opens his eyes I swear to you they are as bright as if they are somehow back-lit by the sun. They're as green as a leaf in spring – pure and shiny, replete with life. I want to melt. "After that conversation, if you can call it that, I got in my car and drove to see you." He looks me over – I'm still wearing the long sleeve purple tee shirt that I wore yesterday, but I'm bottomless – thankful that I wore a pair of pretty grey hipster panties. "You have nothing to be jealous about." His hand is moving up my calf, turning my legs to jello.

I sit, half on his thighs, half on his pelvis, hugging my knees. "I'm not." I lie.

He knows it, raising his eyebrows. "Then what was that?" I think about it for a minute. I was so angry and hurt by Caroline, by Stefan telling her that I led him on that I was spewing and can't really remember what I said exactly. "I haven't called you, or came to see you, because if being away from me is as hard as it is for me not being with you, I don't want to put you through that. Caroline is a friend – there is nothing there that you should feel threatened by. Nothing." He sits up on his elbows so he can look at me better – I still can't figure out what's different about his face but I'm absolutely sure he's somehow more muscled than he was three weeks ago. "I did not tell her that you led me on. I know you love me. As far as this being a sick game… fair point, but it's either get through it and hope it turns out or just flip the board off the table and say screw it to whomever gets hurt. I love you enough to know that I could live another thousand years without you and the way I feel about you wouldn't fade in the slightest." He's quiet for a moment, searching my eyes, wondering if he's getting through to me – he is. "Lindsey will be here today, I'm expecting her around four." I roll my eyes uncontrollably – Angelina Jolie's twin sister will be here at four, great. "She's not just some girl." How is he doing this, ticking off everything I said like he's reading a transcript of my rant? "She put herself and her sister in danger to help me get rid of Klaus. She saved me from being _that monster_… a vampire." The words come from his mouth like they are making him nauseated. "She gave me a second chance to be with you. I'll never be able to repay her for that and if she wants me to show her around, I'll do so gladly. Doesn't mean I won't be missing you every second." I smile, my hand moves to his chest – I can feel his heart beat quicken. _I can feel his heart beat… _"There are no rules and I have no suggestions for you as far as what you should be doing with Damon… all I can do is wait for you, and I will… I'll wait til the day I die. As far as the _girls _ you mentioned running my mouth off with," he smiles, obviously finding my rant to be a bit amusing. "Just say the word and I'll never see them again. I don't want you to feel threatened by anyone, no matter how ridiculous your fears are in my eyes, I don't want you to ever wonder where my commitment lies. You own me, Elena."

"Why do you say things like that? I don't want to own you." It sounds good, but I know it's a lie. The thought of owning him, of him being mine in all senses of the words give me a high.

He's straight faced, green eyes burning into my brown. "I see no reason why you shouldn't… I'm breathless without you."

His words wrap around me, caress me. I move to my knees, my hands still on his chest – my hair falls to the sides of my face creating dark walls of privacy - and I kiss him. It's like an explosion bursting through me. I stop, my face still against his, allowing the pleasure of that simple kiss to soak into me, the deepest parts of my soul absorbing it, capturing it for safe keeping. His mouth smiles against my lips as he takes my hair between his fingers. There's a scratchy-ness against my lips – something familiar, something I'd not experienced in a long time. It's a bit of coarse facial hair. My human Stefan needs a shave! I move back to look at his face, my fingers grazing over the light brown hair, prickling the sensitive pads, tickling.

"You've never had hair on your face before…" I sound like I'm in a dream. Am I? Is this real? Stefan Salvatore, human, is laying beneath me, I own him?

He takes his hand from my hair, rubs his face and laughs, "Sorry… I forget that I have to shave now."

I don't think about what I'm saying, it just comes out. "I like it… I want to feel it against me."

His eyes flare, darken, sharpen – they burn into me. That magnetic pull is growing stronger. I can see he's struggling with what he wants, what we want, and what he thinks is right. I'm not conflicted.

Crossing my arms against my stomach, I grab the bottom of my shirt, pulling it off, tossing it aside. With a quick, easy motion, he pulls himself into a seated position with me in his lap and knees on each side of him, his rough warm hands against the skin of my back –pressing me against him. Our mouths meet again, faster & deeper than before.  
>He turns his hips just so and I'm on my back. Stefan's body weight on me is heavy against the unforgiving floor, making it difficult to breathe, hard to move, the carpet stinging my bare back, but the combination of sensations is amazing. I pull at his shirt; I want his skin against me. We remove it without him leaving me and don't miss a beat - our hands, our mouths, our tongues. His scratchy face against me is all that I thought it would be and more; as it's scrapes against my stomach, his lips and mouth nibbling at my hip bone, I know this will be a memory that I'll not soon forget. My human Stefan and his need of a morning shave, grabbing at my rear, caressing my breast. I can't take any more delay and take his face in my hands – the prickly hair feels foreign against my palms – "Stefan, please…" I beg.<br>I never thought I'd be that type of girl, begging for it, but I am with Stefan. He smiles up at me, moves up to kiss me, then looks away for a moment, freezing.  
>I open my mouth to speak, but before my vocal chords can react to my brain's signals, his hand his pressing against my mouth and eyes wide. I listen, I don't hear anything…<br>Stefan bolts to his feet, pulling me up in the same graceful, yet panicky movement. Things are moving too fast – his hand is on the back of my head, a quick kiss on my lips. He's closing the door behind him, shirt wadded in his fist.  
>I'm shell shocked. Cold in my undergarments, burning hot internally. <em>What the hell…<br>_I don't hear him exit and wonder where he's gone as I slip my shirt back on. Stepping into the living quarters, I'm alone, everything is in its place – books and papers scattered as they should be – it's silent.  
>A rap at the door startles me – Damon is here to walk me to class.<br>_How did Stefan know? Did he hear him?_  
>I open the door and Damon is holding up a brown paper bag and a cup of coffee – he brought me breakfast.<p>

"Thought you could use some comfort food – bagel and strawberry cream cheese" He smiles, coming in without me asking – this is our routine. He gives me a quick kiss and I force myself not to cringe. I can still taste Stefan. "You won't believe this, but I saw another one of those Lexus sports cars in your parking lot."

"Oh," I'm about to say something, no clue what but whatever comes out is going to have to work, when Caroline's bedroom door opens and she comes out - sauntering. She's in a pale pink camisole and matching boy shorts, her hair a sexy mess. It takes a long moment for me to register it, but Stefan is trailing behind her, their fingers laced together.

Damon looks thrilled; his eyes wide and a sly smile from ear to ear as he watches the 'we just had sex' parade.

"Oh hey!" Caroline greets us. Stefan looks smug.

"Damon. Elena." His voice is low.

Damon and I are statues of ourselves, watching in disbelief. Caroline leads Stefan to the door, opens it a bit. They lean into each other and they kiss – softly, like they've done it a million times. It's a sensual kiss that makes me feel bad to watching. Stefan's hand cups her face and I wonder what it would be like to break her neck.

"Lunch at 1?" He asks, his lips still so close to hers.

She nods, kisses him again, then they part – it feels like I've just ripped out my most important organs, ran over them, left them to rot. The way his hand lazily grazes down her arm as he turns to leave breaks my heart even though I'm fully aware of this con. I remember hearing her 'I'm sexy' laugh just before I fell asleep last night.

"Oh," Caroline gives a wicked smile. Her hands grab the waist band of Stefan's jeans "Can't let you leave like this." She teases as she buttons his jeans for him.

He returns her smile with an equal measure of naughty, kisses her again, then he's out of the door. Caroline turns to us, we're still in shock. "What?"

Damon comes back to life, "Really… that just happened?" His arm circles around my shoulders.

Caroline goes to the kitchen, retrieving a bag of blood from the fridge. "Yep." Her lips smack and eyebrows jump at the 'p' sound.

"Well. That is something." He sounds so happy. In his eyes, I imagine seeing Stefan and Caroline together means that there is no more triangle to deal with. It's Damon and Elena, Stefan and Caroline – the Salvatore brother's are getting along and dating best friends – how nice…

Despite Damon's upbeat mood our walk to my first class was pretty somber. I played my roll, acted like I was totally cool with the new couple, and even agreed that it would be fun to double with them. I'm not only unbalanced from the faux post-coitial show that is on a constant loop in my brain, making listening to my professors review quite difficult, but I'm upset that we were so close to getting caught. My phone buzzes in my back pocket – another distraction – I'm going to fail Monday's test, no doubt about it.

Caroline: I'm sorry. For last night & this morning.

Elena: It's fine. We were both tired & cranky. U saved us this a.m…

Caroline: Why was he still there? Shirtless…

Still there… I think to myself. She knew he was there last night. How many visitors could we have had that she would sexy laugh for? I start to really obsess about it, but stop myself. Caroline would not do this to me, to Tyler. _She was with Klaus and not concerned about Tyler._ My subconscious whispers. I ignore it, but edit my thoughts – she would not do this to me.

Elena: It's a long story.

Caroline: Whatever is going on, be careful.

I reread that warning, silently promising that I'll do better. I'll have to stop following my instincts when I'm with Stefan… otherwise it's going to get him killed. I start to put my phone back, but decide to text Stefan.

Elena: and the Academy Award for Best Actor goes to Stefan Salvatore!

It takes him about ten minutes to respond.

Stefan: Ha ha. Everything ok?

Elena: Better than… he's so excited. Wants to double date.  
>I frown at the thought.<p>

Stefan: Wouldn't work. I can't keep myself from you.

Elena: Gravity…

Stefan: I miss you.

Elena: Ditto. Where are you?

Stefan: Registration. I'm officially an English major freshman!

Elena: Never thought I'd be so hot for a younger man

Stefan: LOL – freshman, yes. Younger, no. Didn't I tell you I'm 22?

Elena: ?

Stefan: No way was I going to be too young to buy a drink. ID says 1990. So I'm an antique freshman.

Elena: You've always pulled off antique very well.

Stefan: Stop flirting with me. You're going to make me kidnap you… have my iniquitous way with you.

I laugh, out loud. A few classmates look at me like I'm insane. My professor is glaring at me from his podium and I realize I'm not even holding a pen trying to look like I'm paying attention. I wait a few minutes to respond.

Elena: Iniquitous… only a sexy English major would use such a word to describe what you do to me.

Stefan: I can think of a few more words to describe what I want to do to you.

I squirm in my seat. I'm about to send a text that suggests we meet – I'll skip my next class, see about his iniquitous thoughts – when the professor calls to me "Gilbert?" I look up, a deer in the headlights. "Whenever you're through, we're having a review session here and I'd like for you to join us."

I slide my phone back into my pocket – a bit embarrassed and thankful that his interruption has stopped me from doing something so irresponsible.

Chapter 8

Stefan's POV

I'm finished registering, happy with my selection of classes and that I won't need Caroline's 'assistance' after all. No one really blinked an eye at my forged documents. Caroline was a life-saver this morning, but Elena is already concerned about our friendship and I plan on discussing this with Caroline when we meet for lunch at one. I've got a lot of explaining to do about this morning as I wasn't able to give Caroline any details at the time. It's a little after noon and I'm starving – the gas station pizza and half gallon of orange juice I had for breakfast already gone.

As I near my car I once again regret my decision to purchase the Lexus – it seemed like a good idea in Miami. My '63 Porsche was still in storage in New York from when I left for Italy and, a lot like the endless appetite for food – and Elena – I can't seem to get enough of fast cars now that I'm human again. It's the adrenaline rush, I guess. There are a couple of guys standing near it, looking it over. It's bringing far too much attention to me and my whereabouts. When I heard Damon this morning, on his way to Caroline & Elena's dorm - greeting a couple of co-ed's on his way, I knew that if he'd seen the Lexus, then he'd know I was there. I'm still unsure why I can hear so well, but I haven't had any more weird episodes since I was running in the woods the morning Damon and Katherine were at the house, so I'm not concerned. If anything I'm lucky to still have the super sensitive hearing.

Giving the group of gawkers a minute to pass on, I check my phone, wondering why Elena hasn't texted me back – our playful banter was just getting good – that's when I see her. She's leaning up against my car, her back to the driver's door. I wonder if it's not the car those guys were inspecting at after all as she's dressed in a pair of undersized khaki shorts, a yellow boat neck loose top that's hanging off of one shoulder and layered over a white tank – canvas wedges extending her already long, smooth legs. She looks up from her phone, gives me that smile – I love her.

"Already done?"

The moment I'm close enough to touch her, I drop my bag of textbooks and move against her, pinning her against the car, my hands on top of the door frame and my lips find her bare shoulder. "Haven't got started." I flirt. She's wearing a perfume that I can't place and I taste it on my tongue.

Her hands move to my waist, under my shirt, resting just below my ribcage. "Mmm, I like how forceful you are these days… what does Elena think of it?"

I push myself away – take another look at her. I see absolutely nothing different; Katherine is a faultless duplicate of Elena. My heart starts to race. The gig is up, cover blown, game over…

"I have no idea and could care less. Why would you bring her up now?" My mouth takes over. I'm getting pretty good at lying at the drop of a hat. "Quick way to turn me off is to bring up an ex-girlfriend that cheated on me with my brother." I pick up my bag and open the car door, using it to push Katherine's body out of the way.

"You're saying you knew it was me…" Katherine is skeptical, really looking at me, trying to catch me giving off some kind of body language that will tip her off to my lie. I don't miss a beat tossing the books in the passenger floor board as I slide into the driver seat. The car roars to life with the push of the ignition button. I have to turn down my radio as I'd been listening to the Airborne Toxic Event much too loudly after I escaped Elena's.

My eyes run down Katherine, back up to her face slowly. "Elena's a bit more covered up."

"And you like that pretentious modesty better?" Her hands are on her hips, a sly smile on her face – she's the Hyde to Elena's Jekyll.

I roll my eyes, "Look Katherine – you shouldn't flatter yourself." I laugh. "Seventeen year old guys aren't really that picky. I'm either hungry or horny pretty much all day long so I'd be just as happy with a burger as I _could've _been had you kept your mouth shut." She frowns at me, frustrated. I can't figure out why she was waiting on me, and I'm not going to stick around to ask. "So could you move so I can go eat?"

************************************************************************************  
>Caroline was waiting for him when Stefan arrived, spotting her blonde hair in the crowded sports bar with ease. The smell of the fried foods made his stomach growl with anxious anticipation as he made his way to the window-side booth.<br>"Hey!" Caroline smiled, "do we have to kiss again?" she teased.

Stefan leaned over the table, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before taking his seat across from her. "That was… bad."

"Ugh hello… I think I'm a pretty decent kisser!" She gave a mock hurt expression, before sipping her tea. Stefan laughed, it was easy being around Caroline and he'd often wondered if this is what it would've been like had he and Damon had a sister. "Though, I would like to know why we had to have fake sex and you had to do the fake walk of shame."

_Elena didn't clue her in?_ Stefan found it odd that Elena hadn't explained anything to Caroline, but shrugged it off to lack of timing since Damon was there. "Elena called me last night. Gave me a bit of an ear full, ya know?" He'd already told to her about that last night when he showed up at their dorm. "But she was already asleep so I just slept in her floor and waited for her to wake up. It was innocent…" he lied. "I just can't take the chance that Damon is going to be suspicious and freak out."

They stopped discussing it in order to give their order to the tattooed and pierced waitress with light pink hair – the girl, with her round face and eyes, reminded Stefan of how Lexi had once dyed her hair that color before they saw the Rolling Stones in Amsterdam. Once the waitress left, Caroline picked it up again "And your shirt came off… you're pants were undone because?"

Quick lie – "I got hot."

Caroline raised her eyebrows at him. "I bet you did." The pink haired new age Lexi sat Stefan's water down, giving him a sweet smile. "Reminder… I've got really great hearing. I see you haven't shaved…"

Stefan felt himself blush but he couldn't stop the smile bright smile from taking over his face – remembering how Elena gently touched his scratchy beard. "Nosey much?" _How much had she heard? _

"Ugh, how can I help it? You two are anything but subtle." Caroline laughed, sliding her hair behind her ears. "It's no wonder she can't get over you. The way you talk to her… I was having trouble not swooning for you." They laughed, but Stefan felt a bit uneasy with the way the conversation was going.

"Whatever." He smiled, trying to think of a way to change the subject.

"You own me, Elena." She teased in her best 'Stefan' voice. "Why do you let her do that to you?"

"Do what?"

"Dragging you along… Damon too. Elena is –"She stopped, the waitress sitting a large basket full of fries between them.

"The kitchen is kind of backed up on the grill, so it's gonna be a little wait to get your fajitas out here…" She was eyeing Stefan again. Caroline shifted in her seat – Stefan noticed how Caroline seemed uncomfortable and wondered why she'd suddenly become so possessive over him - staring down the punk rocker. "Thought I'd bring some fries over for you… on me, of course."

"I'm sure you would love _him on you," _playing on the waitress' ill-phrased sentence, "but we're talking so please…" Caroline snapped. The girl backed away, shocked at Caroline's outburst.

"Have you ate today?" Stefan asked after a moment. "Little on edge today?"

Caroline rested her face in her hands and closed her eyes. "I have no idea what that was about…" She groaned. Stefan stayed quiet, ate a few fries – one of the things that made him a good listener, someone to talk to when things were feeling off or just too heavy was that he knew when to not talk. After a few minutes, gathering her thoughts, Caroline continued. "I miss Tyler. I _really_ miss Klaus. And yes, I know that makes me a terrible person. I don't want you to be hurt like this… not again. She's with Damon. They are engaged, Stefan. Besides my mom you are all I've got and you are sleeping on the floor and giving yourself to a girl who has already betrayed you once. I love Elena, but she chose Damon while you were paying a debt for saving _his_ life!"

"You're the furthest from a terrible person that you can be, Caroline." Stefan took her hands from her face, held them across the table, and looked her straight in the eyes. "Klaus is complicated… there was a time that I would have laid down my life for him, so trust me, I understand that there is a side of him that is good. You shouldn't be ashamed, at all. But you've got to trust me when it comes to Elena."

She looked at him for a long moment, searching his eyes. He appeared confident, sure of himself, yet Caroline couldn't help but feel as if something was going to go bad and it would be Stefan that got hurt. "So that means something is going on?"

Stefan sat back, taking his hands from hers and resting them in his lap. "Look, this –"

"No, you look, Stefan. You need to really think this over." Caroline sat straight, her eyes wide, "You've got a second chance to, to live! To have a real future and a real family – how long are you willing to wait for her to decide?" She could see that Stefan was getting aggravated with her tone, with her down-talking of Elena, but it had to be said. "A smart man once said if you love two people, choose the second one, because if you'd really loved the first one you wouldn't have fallen for the second." Stefan had no response – Caroline's words weaved through him and for the first time since coming back to Mystic Falls and meeting Elena, he felt doubt. He felt reservation. For the first time, he felt a shadow of distrust for Elena. "Johnny Depp – in case you were wondering." Caroline smiled, seemingly happy that she'd cracked his resolve.

"She loves me, Caroline."

"And she loves Damon." Caroline's voice was dry, "Do you really want to settle for second place or are you okay with sharing her?"

CHAPTER 8

STEFAN's POV

We'd been driving for a solid hour before I realized how awkward things were between us. At first, I assumed Lindsey was quiet because she was exhausted from the flight. We picked up some coffee at a drive thru Starbucks, but the shot of caffeine didn't seem to be making a difference. Then I thought maybe she was distracted by the scenery – but, really Roanoke isn't much to look at and she didn't get any more talkative when we hit the bland highway on our way to Mystic Falls. The radio is on, so that's helping keep the silence from becoming too heavy, but as she rigidly sits in the passenger seat, staring out of the furthest part of the window that she can, I can now clearly see that something is wrong. Lindsey's hands are clasp together in her lap; knuckles slightly white and the skin of her hands is beginning to look irritated by the constant pressure of her fingers. Our greeting was less than friendly at the airport but I thought nothing of it at the time. I wasn't listening before, but now that I am, I can hear her heart beating quickly and the shaky breaths that escape her lips.

I see the "Welcome to Mystic Falls, VA" sign and reach to drop a gear in order to adjust to the lowered speed limit – when my right hand leaves the steering wheel, moving for the gear shift, Lindsey nearly shrieks as her body jerks in place with fear.

"Are you scared of me?" I ask. I'm honestly horrified. This girl saved me. I would never even think of hurting her. She swallows, cutting her wide hazel eyes at me. "Lindsey, what? What did I do?"

Lindsey is looking every which way but at me, the kneading of her fingers getting much more intense. I pull over to the side of the road thinking that maybe she needs to get some space between us to calm down, but her breathing grows more ragged as I pull to a stop. I stick to my plan and get out of the car. We'd left the interstate sometime back and the road we're on is quite rural – I think back to the night Elena flipped her SUV just a mile or so further down.  
>For the life of me I cannot figure out what is going on with Lindsey. We'd just talked just last night when I was driving from Mystic Falls to Charlottesville to visit Elena and I didn't detect any of this apprehension then. As a matter of fact, she was quite flirtatious and excited. What could have changed her opinion of me in such a short time?<br>The buzzing of my phone in my back pocket distracts me from routing any further into that question.

Damon: Pick up your witchy girlfriend?  
>I roll my eyes – wonder how he is able to transmit his attitude via a text message so perfectly.<p>

Stefan: Yes. Nearly home. Why?

Damon: What does your vampire girlfriend think of your summer fling?  
>Vampire girlfriend? Caroline or Katherine… I'm sure Katherine has already given Damon a play by play of the parking lot incident from early today.<p>

Stefan: Which one?

Damon: HA! I swear, brother. You are ten times more fun as a human.  
>Damon: Let's get together this weekend. Let me know.<p>

I start to respond, tell him that I'm going to be too busy though truthfully I just do not want to face him and Elena, when the passenger door opens and Lindsey steps into the early summer breeze. She really is quite breathtaking. I turn to face her – the hood of the car separating us, hopefully giving her a sense of safety – I'm still not sure why she's scared of me. I'm human. I spent weeks with her in Italy recovering before coming home. I spent months with her as a vampire before the Temple spell and she'd been very affectionate, not scared, at all.

"Something is not right, Stefan." Lindsey and I are a lot alike when we are upset – she has her arms crossed tightly across her chest, her voice emotionless – it's business. "I don't know what it is, but when we hugged at the airport…" She stops, looks me over again, her frown growing deeper. "Something is wrong with you. I felt it – when we touched. You've changed since you came back here."

She's making me feel uneasy, nervous in my own skin, but I try to brush it off. "Lindsey, I'm fine. Nothing has happened." _Except I'm very fast & strong, I'm still able to hear a pin drop a hundred yards away, I can still stalk like a predator and, of course, that time in the woods… I swear my eyes changed._

"Did you have them change you back? To a vampire, I mean?"

"What? No! Never." I run my hand through my hair, I'm feeling restless – what is she talking about?

"Something isn't right, Stefan." She insists, beginning to sound frustrated and scared again. Her accent is thick and it makes her words seem even more substantial. I move slowly as I come around to her side of the car, cautiously place my hands on her upper arms. She doesn't flinch and her heart beat is slowing.

"I don't know why you're upset, Lindsey. I swear, I'm fine." I smile despite the fact that she's got me kind of freaked out. "Maybe it's just this area… its historic and riddled with supernatural power and deaths. Salem isn't too far from here."

Looking up at me, her hazel eyes the color of damp moss; she looks as though she is considering what I've suggested. I feel her relax a bit, take a deep breath. "I don't know… You don't feel human." She says it like it's silly, so I give a small laugh and she leans into me – hugging my stomach. She's a bit taller than Elena – I notice how her head doesn't fit perfectly under my chin like Elena's does.

I don't love her, in any way really, but it's nice to have her against me like this. She's warm and smells nice, and I know she has a crush on me. "I'm not a vampire. So if I'm not human, what am I?"

"Stefan…" She sighs my name, "I dreamt you killed me. I woke up terrified just before the plane landed." I squeeze her a bit tighter, rub her back with my open hands. "Then when I see you at the airport, when I hug you, I can feel it."

I pull away a bit, honestly beginning to get aggravated with this conversation. "I. Will. Not. Hurt. You." I try. "It was just a nightmare… what can you feel?"

"I know that. I know you won't hurt me, Stefan, but I can feel you." She looks deep into me, through me. "You're evil."


	5. The Lasting Truth of Change pt 3

ELENA's POV

Damon is waiting on me in the common room, but I just can't seem to get the energy to get dressed. I've showered, blown my hair out, lotioned, and now I'm collapsed on my bed in my underwear and bra. I'm drained…

When I got home from the library this afternoon he was set on going out tonight and it's rare that he wants to go do something other than hang, so if he's feeling up to going to an actual establishment to do something extra-curricular, then I should be game. I am game… I'm just so tired. As un-cool as it was to stay in on Friday, I went to bed early last night, and I've spent all day today studying. I want to go out – it's Saturday night! – but I can't seem to find the energy.

"Elena?" Caroline knocks twice, then opens the door. I don't move to cover myself. "I brought you a cute dress." She nearly coos at me like a baby. I know she's worried that I'm upset with her.

I sit up on my elbows and smile, "We're fine, Caroline. Really." She's holding a short white dress and neon yellow heels. It's exactly opposite of what I would choose for myself, even if I didn't feel like I'd been ran over by a mac truck. She can tell by my expression that it's a no go but smiles brightly knowing that I'm not upset with her.

Knowing that Damon can hear us, she leaves the subject alone. "So what are you going to wear?"

When I come out of my room, Damon is on his phone but gives me a quick once over. With the raising of his eyebrows and the blue lightning in his eyes I know he approves of my choice. I have on a pair of black, high heel booties that I borrowed from Caroline, black skinny jeans, a light grey tank that hugs low on my hips and a loose stormy blue satin vest, topped off with Damon's black and grey fedora. I do a little spin for him and he smiles.

"Yep – he chose it? – the seventies were a good time, weren't they - we'll see you there." He hangs up the phone as he moves close to me, "I like this hat… looks good on you, though"

I lean into him, give him a quick kiss on the lips. "Who was that?"

"Katherine." He moves to kiss me again but her name may as well be ice water. When I move back, he must realize the effect it's had on me and doesn't pry when I nonchalantly move to get my ID from my backpack.

"Lip gloss!" Caroline comes from my room, carrying my favorite mocha-berry lip gloss. "Now you two have fun, and don't stay out too late!" She teases, handing me the tube of gloss. She makes me smile. "And get her some coffee, will you!"

Damon frowns at me, then turns back to Caroline. "I figured you'd be coming with us."

"Me," Caroline chuckles, "going out with the lacking Salvatore brother and Elena's evil great great grandmother…no thanks, I'd rather stake myself."

"Oh well, your loss… I guess Stefan will have one vampire and one witch to entertain tonight then." He replies with a smile. "He's a busy boy, my baby brother."

"Stefan's going to be there?" I reply too quickly in too high of a tone. I catch the quick narrowing of Damon's icy eyes.

Damon has a way of making the room shrink, of becoming larger than anything around when he's angry and I quickly feel myself beginning to disappear beneath his temper. I'm not sure if it's because I'm so tired, or the realization that I'm about to attempt my first double date with my fiancée and, his brother, the keeper of my soul, but I don't have the patience for him. "Oh jeez, Damon. Just stop right there before you even get started. I don't want to hear this again…I'm engaged to you." I hold up my left hand, wiggle my ring finger. I know I probably look like a brat, but I storm out of the dorm and go to the elevator. By the time it opens, he's next to me and is already calmed enough that I don't feel quite as annoyed.

"Elena." Damon offers his hand to me as he opens the car door – it's the first thing he's said to me since I shut him down in my dorm. The Salvatore brothers are more alike than I think they realize, their silent treatment usage is just one of many similarities they share.

"Thank you."

"I'm not… great… at apologizing." Damon mumbles as we make our way from the parking lot towards the entrance of the Metropolitan building – it's the tallest of the city buildings in Charlottesville.

We walk quietly, with a good amount of distance between us, though the glass doors, across the stone and metal lobby that is dimly lit by recessed lighting set high in its dark ceiling, and make it into the large elevator before he says anything else. I'm mad, I'm tired, I'm so nervous about what is about to happen that I'm just not able to react appropriately. My thoughts are muddled by the nagging fear of not being able to pull off this 'doting girlfriend' act when Stefan is sitting directly in front of me – smelling like he does, smiling like he does . Damon _will_ kill him. He's impulsive and possessive and of all people in the world, Stefan is the only person he's ever been envious of.

"I said I'm sorry." He states coolly, pressing the '55' button on the panel of the elevator wall just as the doors slide together.

"Actually, you didn't." I know I shouldn't press the issue. For God's sake, he's absolutely right about how I feel about Stefan! "But it doesn't matter… I'm just tired." The old cop-out. For good measure, I lean up against him, resting my head on his shoulder, and take his hand in mine.

It's not a complete lie – I am tired.

After a few moments of him enjoying our closeness, he says, "If you decide you want to leave, just say the word. Stefan picked this place… Katherine says it's an _interesting_ choice."

I feel myself turn into steel. Katherine…I want to let go of Damon's hand, move a few feet away from him. But I don't. I stay against him, but I raise my head from his shoulder. Something about her name turns me into a soldier. I know I have no chance against her, I've not forgot my place in the hierarchy of Mystic Falls, but given the chance to face her as equals…

I can't finish the thought when the elevator door opens and I'm taken by surprise. I don't know what I expected, just a normal club maybe. A dark bar with a jazz trio. I don't know… definitely not the flashing lights and the high falsetto of the BeeGee's You Should Be Dancin'- I was not expecting to see a full on replica of Studio 54 – disco balls glittering from the black rafters, orange and blue velvet seating surrounding the walls, and a full on bottom-lit disco dance floor covered with people – all surrounded by an amazing bird's eye view of the city.

"Trust me. This is not my idea of a good time." Damon complains, mistaking my shock for dissatisfaction. Taking my hand and pulling us into the throng of people, he seems to know where he's going, weaving through the crowd, and I wonder if he's been here before. A 1970's club doesn't seem like the kind of place for him or Stefan, but the majority of the crowd looks to be about my age and they're all smiles and drinks and Saturday Night Fever dance moves – I can't help but feel a little bit better every time the crowd sings "Dancin',Yeah!" along with the track. By the time we get to the recessed seating I'm dancing and I'm walking. Damon gives me a smirk – he may not be into it, but I know he's happy that I'm feeling a bit peppier. Katherine is sitting in the corner of the booth, a guy I've never seen before is leaned over the table – I figure he's trying to pick her up by the way she is glaring at him. She looks as amazing as ever, per usual.

"Damon!" She smiles, saying his name loudly. "Thank God!" She stands and takes Damon's free hand. The failed-pick up guy turns and takes us in – Damon Salvatore with a twin on each arm– his eyes widen and then he gives Damon a nod. Kind of saying "good for you man!" Damon acts like he doesn't pay any attention, but I can feel that he's gloating a bit as the guy leaves the table.

"Where are Stefan and his witch?" Damon leans into Katherine to speak. She nods to the dance floor in response and Damon and I turn at the same time.

The floor is full, and even more people are crowding onto the dance floor as 'Disco Inferno' starts, but it's hard to miss Stefan – the Greek God that he is – even harder to miss his personal Italian version of Angelina Jolie. She's in a gold metallic mini dress that leaves nothing to the imagination. Lindsey is impeccably gorgeous with her sexed up hair and pouty lips, and that dress hugs her just so. I'm suddenly embarrassed by my hat and skinny jeans. Sad thing is, Stefan still looks better than Lindsey and that is quite a feat. He's got on a white button up shirt, with the sleeves rolled up and grey slacks that hang on his hips in a way that makes me want to bit my lip, or his lip, I can't tell. They're not dancing close really, not like in a hip-hop club where it's a grinding and overtly sexual, but they are intimate in their movement – her arm loosely around his neck and their hips in synch.

"Seriously, much more fun as a human." Damon cracks and he and Katherine share a little laugh together. I don't laugh, but he's right. This Stefan, free of the weight of fighting the urges and natural predator lifestyle of a vampire, he's so full of life and seems almost carefree – I want that, I want him.

My eyes aren't on Stefan for more than a few seconds when I feel that magnetism we share grab a hold of me. It's like a rope knotting around my spine, drawing me to him. I know he feels it too when he nearly stops moving with Lindsey and his green eyes lock onto mine. His playful smile and bright eyes immediately turn playful and seductive – even from more than thirty feet away I can see him wanting me in the way his lips part and his eyes flame. I stand a bit taller, reassured I guess, and give him a smile that is just as suggestive as the way he's looking at me. It's just me and him, for a moment, we're all that exist in this room of flashing lights and loud music. I literally have to take hold of the back of the booth to keep myself from going to him.

Damon takes my holding of the booth as a sign that I want to sit and moves next to me, forcing me to go ahead and take a seat. Katherine has bottle service at the table – compelled I'm sure – and Damon pours me a glass of white wine.

"Are you not going to have any?" I ask, sipping and trying to look over his shoulder, wanting to see Stefan but doing my best to make it look as though I'm just checking out the club.

Damon shakes his head, "Want something stronger." Whiskey – his drink of choice.

Katherine tells him where the bar is, suggests he uses a different bartender than the blonde guy with the spacers in his ears since she's already compelling him. Damon stands, takes off his leather jacket and tosses it behind me. He gets a few steps away before I feel Katherine scoot closer to me.

I wouldn't say I feel fear when I'm alone with her – though, yes I am scared of her. I'd be a fool not to be! However, there is a strange current between the two of us – some kind of blend of fear, kinship, and even a little respect. "I'm surprised." She says, knocking back a shot of tequila. I don't ask her to continue, I don't even look at her, but she does anyway. "Stefan comes back to you as a human and you're still with Damon."

"I'm not like you, Katherine." _Yes I am. I hate it, but I am._

She smiles sweetly, "Oh Elena, you may fool the Salvatore brothers… but let's not play this game of charades when we both know better."

"I'm with Damon. Is that what bothers you? That I chose and you still can't have either of them?" I spark back at her. I don't want to be like Katherine and the realization has angered me at myself.

Katherine's smile changes, but it doesn't falter. My mirror image is calm, with a knowing look in her eyes – I can't help but feel intimidated. I start to ask her why she looks so smug, but that magnetism is suddenly incredibly strong. I turn to look out to the dance floor again just as Lindsey slides in next to me; Stefan stays standing, resting against the end of the booth I'm sitting against– a hungriness to him that I can feel in the deepest parts of my gut. I can't even get out a greeting before Lindsey takes me in a tight hug and squeals my name.

I hug her back, awkwardly. This is my competition, isn't it? Why does she seem so happy to see me? We barely spoke in Naples – I was inconsolable, desolate after Stefan's death –but I can remember her smoothing my hair and kissing my forehead before leaving with Cruz.

"Come and dance!" She tugs at me. "I love disco music, come!" So that's why we're here, Lindsey loves disco music and Stefan is showing her a good time – she is my competition.

I give her a friendly laugh as I shake my head no, one arm on the back of the booth, the other holding my wine glass on the table, when I feel electricity course through my fingers and up my arm. My eyes fly to where my hand is resting on the orange velvet booth - Stefan's fingertips have slid under my palm and his thumb is making slow circles on the top of my hand – the sight of his sensual touch blocked from Katherine's view by Lindsey. I look up at him quickly and he's watching a waiter at the table next to us. He's playing it off like nothing is happening behind Lindsey's back, when in reality his simple touch is burning me, teasing me. The naughtiness of our hidden contact makes it tenfold more intimate. I cut my eyes to Katherine; she has no idea, and then lace my fingers with Stefan's. It's a sign of solidarity, of commitment, and it a line that I know we're going to continue to push. See how far we can go without getting caught, enjoying the mischievous and scandalous high of wanting each other from afar – knowing we can't be together, but secretly signaling to one another that the feeling is mutual.

The slap of Damon's hand against Stefan's shoulder breaks our touch as Stefan's fingers pull away from mine in an instant, curling into a loose fist before moving to shake Damon's hand. Lindsey and Katherine are talking, about to go dance, but I'm entranced watching the Salvatore brothers interacting. Damon brought a tumbler of bourbon for Stefan and he downs it in one swig. They laugh and talk and they're so… brotherly. I can't really hear what they are saying, but following their eyes and Damon's hand gestures I'm guessing they are joking about the club or what they were doing in the '70s. I find it strange that Damon has never seemed more human than at this moment, standing next to his human brother. This is why Stefan and I cannot be together yet –I've known Stefan and Damon for nearly three years and never have I seen them be near one another with this kind of ease, this feeling of relaxation. I smile, happy that I am able to help make this happen, and finish my wine. I'm going to dance. Katherine and Lindsey are already on the disco floor and I want to celebrate.

"Where are you going?" Damon asks as I slip out of the booth, grazing my body against Stefan's back as if I didn't have enough room. I can see his back tense at my touch, but it's subtle enough that Damon doesn't catch it.

"To dance!" I give them an innocent smile. I can see in Stefan's gaze that my touch had the effect I hoped, but that he's going to get his revenge. "Come on!" I reach for Damon's hand, but he doesn't move.

"I don't do disco." He groans, taking another drink from his glass.

I let his hand fall back to his side. "Stefan?" I don't wait for an answer; I know he'll follow me.

I'm a couple steps onto the flashing floor – Katherine and Lindsey are dancing with some guys I don't know– when I turn and see Stefan trailing behind me – a million dollar smile on his Roman face. "Keep It Comin" by KC and the Sunshine Band is playing and I do my best John Travolta moves, while Stefan makes a small circle around me doing a funny little swagger walk. I laugh, he laughs, we're smiling and laughing and dancing goofily! I feel light as air! We continue our playful dancing, keeping a safe distance, far into the next song until Stefan takes my hand and spins me, then spins himself, then me again –when I return to face him, we are so close – too close - I have to tilt my head back to look up at him. His lips look like they'd be so sweet to taste.

That gravity that I feel when I'm near him, it's like a vice grip, trying to squeeze us together. I don't want to fight it. I want him to hold me, kiss me, devour me. His eyes smolder with an intensity that I know well, oh so very well. I can see he's thinking the same thing, his head moving towards me, then restraining himself. Stefan turns away and does his swagger walk over to Lindsey, leaving me standing alone on the dance floor. He takes her by the waste and they circle a couple of times so that he's now facing away from me and all I can see is the wide smile of Angelina Jolie.

_I'm Baby, he's Johnny… I just carried a watermelon _– why a Dirty Dancing analogy is the only thing that enters my mind, I have no idea.

I don't have long to fume about it though. I see Damon moving closer to me out of the corner of my eye and I turn on my "woo this is great!" face and we start to dance as he takes me in his arms. Damon is smiling and happy, but I feel an invisible space between us. I don't know if its guilt for wanting his brother the way I do, sneaking around behind his back, or if maybe Damon knows there is something traitorous going down, but I can't shake the feeling that he's upset – despite his neutral appearance.

"Stefan's different." He states, still dancing, but he's not really into it and neither am I. We stay at it though, keeping up appearances. I act like his statement is one that does not need a response – I just continue dancing though I can't bring myself to look him in the face. "He's just like I remember him, in 1864, I mean." I hear a sadness, a longing, in Damon's voice and I hate it for him. Damon would never admit it, but he hates being a vampire just as much as Stefan did.

"Beer?" Stefan calls to Damon, and I'm once again amazed at how well Stefan can turn off his feelings for me – I may as well not even be there, being held against his brother. To anyone else, there is nothing going on between us. I silently wish I was as good of an actor as Stefan. Damon shakes his head yes and Stefan leaves Lindsey with us.

Damon and I are pretty loose with our relationship – we're as monogamous as a sexless couple can be, but we aren't shy about flirting with others, except Stefan of course. I can instantly tell that Damon finds Lindsey attractive. It's in the way he smiles at her, takes her hand and spins her. How he lights up when she giggles from the quick spin catching her off guard. Damon and I aren't jealous or suspicious of each other… except when it comes to Stefan, of course. Of course.

Lindsey is fun and animated as she dances. I can see that she's not only beautiful, but also a lot of fun to be with. She makes me want to dance, gets me to laugh along with her. By the time Stefan comes back, grasping five beer bottles against his chest, Katherine has joined Damon, Lindsey, and I and we're all doing a dance called The Bump, which is basically just bumping hips with the person next to you every other beat or so – the song is even called The Bump. It's a steady beat song that's just as goofy as I am feeling! Stefan hands out the bottles, and after giving me mine, he moves behind me – sliding his hand across the lowest part of my back. It's a quick, barely there move and before I can react, he's back to Lindsey, bumping at her hip, then moving to the other side and bumping with Katherine. Damon is bumping with Lindsey and then with me, Katherine and I are even doing it. It's a big circle of a very strange group gathering. None the less, I am truly having a great time.

It wasn't that long ago that Katherine was out to kill me, Damon and Stefan were at each other's throats, and Lindsey was helping to take down Klaus. Now here we all are – drunk and dancing like a bunch of idiots without a care in the world.

The music stops for a second and a whispery voice comes through the speakers "Do It".

Everyone seems to know what that is and they cheer loudly. Damon and Stefan even high five! Lindsey jumps up and down and everyone starts to get in a line. I end up in between Damon and Stefan.

"Can you hustle?" Stefan calls to me just as the entire floor starts to move in unison around me. It's a two-step forward/two-steps back, toe touch kind of thing that literally everyone knows but me. I'm in complete awe, watching Damon and Stefan do what the song is calling The Hustle. When they start doing this Ray Charles neck-wiggle thing I swear I think I am going to cry I am laughing so hard as the brothers play off of each other – over exaggerating the movements. Damon really starts to get into it when the hip sway comes into play and I hear Katherine give a playful whistle at him. I'm trying to figure out the steps, but it's just not happening.

"Here, watch." Stefan puts his arm around my back, standing at my side. "Step, step, back back. Front, back, side" It takes a few turns but I get it finally, Stefan doesn't move away though – when we turn, he keeps his hands on my hips – even when we do the hip swaying, he's right up against me. Damon isn't really paying any attention; he's putting on his own show for the many sets of female eyes that are following his move. Katherine on the other hand, I catch her watching us moving together. But I figure if Stefan isn't worried about it, than neither am I and keep on swaying and stepping and Ray Charles neck-wiggling with Stefan until the song is over and Stayin' Alive starts.

"Stefan, come on, you know this right?" Damon calls to his brother. Stefan smiles and goes to join him and Katherine and they do what I have only John Travolta do. Lindsey finds me and we watch for a moment, laughing as Stefan and Damon keep it up even after Katherine tires out. They are doing some sort of arm roll and there is way more hip movement than any man should be allowed to do in public, but it's absolutely hilarious to see them feeding off one another. They're having a great time just being brothers who happened to be alive during the disco days.

"Bathroom?" Katherine calls to us. Lindsey turns to follow her without a second thought. I look over at Damon and Stefan and catch Stefan looking over at me. I smile, letting him know I'm okay, and take off to the bathroom behind Lindsey.

Once inside the bathroom, Katherine checks the four or five stalls – oddly, there is no one in here but us three – Lindsey locks the door.

"What's going on?" I ask, my throat tight with fear and anticipation. The start of 'Shake Your Booty' can still be heard through the walls, but it's quiet enough that we don't have to yell.

"Lindsey here has some questions for you… since you're so close to the Salvatore's." Katherine's sing-songy tone gives me chills. I look to Lindsey and she's smiling brightly, excited and buzzing from the alcohol.

"It's about Stefan!" Her voice is animated, eyes wide. "I think, tonight… it's going to happen."

Honestly, I'm confused. Katherine rolls her eyes at me.

"She thinks Stefan is going to take her back to the hotel and give her some of his vamp sex."

Oh God, I'm going to vomit.

"Katherine!" Lindsey playfully scorns. She's like a teenage girl chatting it up with her girlfriends about going 'all the way'.

"Tell her about it, Elena." Katherine pokes at me. I know she can tell I'm not happy with this line of conversation. "Since you're with Damon, I figured you'd be the best source of information." I look at Katherine; I want to smack her so badly. Whatever bit of friendship we were pretending to have just moments early is completely gone. "Unless you have first-hand experience with Stefan, too?"

She's such a bitch. I don't know what she's trying to pull – she knows very well that Stefan and I were together. I give Katherine a smile, "Why can't you tell her? You were with them both."

Lindsey doesn't seem surprised and I wonder what parts of the Katherine/Damon/Elena/Stefan story she's aware of. Obviously, she doesn't know about Stefan and me.

"Because you're human." Lindsey sighs.

"But so is Stefan." I reply, my arms crossing in front of me. Lindsey and Katherine share a look. "What am I missing?"

Katherine jumps in before Lindsey, "He's human-ish'"

"What does that mean?" I ask, confused.

"He's as human as a one-time vampire can be…" Lindsey says as she primps her eye makeup and fluffs up her curls in the mirror. "He's still got some of the traits of a vampire." I let that sit for a moment – consider it, it makes sense I guess. Explains how he heard Damon coming to my dorm yesterday morning. "So tell me, what's it like to be with a vampire."

"Yea, enlighten us, Elena." Katherine nearly hisses, eyeing me through her lashes.

I'm quiet for a long moment. The last thing I want to do is tell Lindsey what it's going to be like if she were to get a chance to be with Stefan. "This is ridiculous."

Lindsey takes my hands in hers and looks at me with her hazel eyes, smiling sweetly. "Elena please… he makes me so nervous. Even though he's not a vampire anymore, not really, I'm scared of him… but, I think I'm in love with him at the same time." I stop breathing. "I want to be able to make him happy, you know?"

I can almost hear Katherine's witchy cackle even though she's not making a sound.

"You're in love with Stefan?" I ask, breathlessly. "Does he know?"

"NO! No, and please don't tell him." She squeezes my hands. "I mean, I think he feels the same about me but we had an argument and things are kind of weird between us right now. I wouldn't be asking you this except that he told me once that you were his best friend in the world… I just need some advice, please."

"He feels the same?" I'm in a dizzy haze, thoughts forming into words and coming from my mouth without a filter.

"Yes, I think so." She's so happy. I can see it, I know that feeling – of being loved and cherished and adored by Stefan. "At least, he did… I called him evil." I let go of her hands– it angers me that she would call him that. After all that he's been through to try and redeem himself! Maybe she doesn't know how hard he fought the dark side of him when he was a vampire, but it doesn't matter. What right does she have to say something so cruel to my Stefan – good and kind Stefan. Lindsey can see that she's upset me and starts to explain. "I can still feel it in him. That evilness that he carried as a vampire, it's still there."

"It's a part of him that he's not going to be able to escape, _Lindsey_ – no matter how hard he tries…but if you have such a problem with it why would you want to be in love with him? Why would you want to sleep with someone who is _evil_?" My voice comes across with much more force than I'd hoped for.

I know Stefan better than anyone else in this world – hearing that Lindsey said that to him, this girl that he feels ever indebted to for giving him his human self, I know it cut him to the core. Shamed him, even. I want to go to him and hold him and tell Stefan that he is good, benevolent, selfless.

Lindsey frowns at me, "I didn't mean to say it. He wasn't like that when he was in Italy with me… I had to tell him that something inside of him had changed! It took me by surprise and I had no idea what to do so I just told him. He got very angry with me… it doesn't change the fact that I love Stefan."

I purse my lips together, I want to tell her that she's wasting her time – Stefan loves me, but I keep quite long enough to think of a more acceptable answer. Moving to the door, unlocking the deadbolt, I turn back to Lindsey and Katherine, "I think you probably need to get to know Stefan better before you decide you love him."

"I know him well enough." Lindsey returns, a bit snappier that I like.

"No, I don't think you do. If you did, then you'd know that he's not evil, and you'd know he doesn't love you, he feels like he owes you… nothing more."

I stomp out of the bathroom and through the crowd, hanging close to the wall, making my way to the exit. I want to see Stefan, alone. I'm angry with Katherine and Lindsey, but more than anything I want to make sure Stefan knows that he's not evil. I want to make sure he is okay. I take my cell phone from my pocket and type out a text to ask him to meet me in the lobby as I walk by the dance floor. I don't see them and figure they're on the other side of the club at our table.

My mind is racing in a hundred directions. What am I doing? Taking a chance to meet with Stefan, now, with Katherine and Damon and Lindsey so close. What if we get caught? I can't help it. I have to make sure he's okay. I make it past the bar and push through the crowd into the elevator lobby.

I'm just tapping the send button on my phone to send Damon a text message, letting him know I'm going outside for some air, when the elevator opens and a crowd of college kids unload and head into the club behind me. They are already drunk, stumbling and laughing, taking up more room than necessary.

"Hey Sexy!" One of the stumblers slurs and I follow her with my eyes, wondering if she's hitting on the bouncer. I know exactly who she's talking to as Stefan gives her a winning smile, but doesn't look twice at her. When his eyes find me my heartbeat goes into overdrive, his smile disappears and I back into the elevator as he matches my steps with wider strides, closing the distance between us –a predator and I am his prey. My back presses against the cool elevator wall as he steps through the open door – his jade colored eyes intensely focused on my brown – I know this man will either break my heart or save me. The doors don't even get closed before his hands find my face and our lips come together hungrily.

Kissing Stefan is like coming up for air after nearly drowning. It's the sunlight to the sightless, it's Beethoven's piano sonata to a deaf man - It reassures my soul that I am alive. I fold into him, pressing my entire body against his. My toes are barely touching the ground and I can feel him on me from my lips to knees. It's a slow, smooth movement – a longing and passionate kiss – tasting each other, committing to memory the way our breaths fall into rhythm and our body melt together. If I am never kissed again, by anyone for rest of my life, this one kiss will be ever satisfying – never needing another. We break apart, gasping for air, holding one another, our foreheads together, eyes still closed.

"I love you so much." His honest words carry my lips back to his and it starts again. I can't explain how it feels to be kissed by your divine compliment. I don't know the words to clarify how one can be on fire and numb, eternally satisfied yet starving for more. My emotions begin to overwhelm me and I feel tears in my eyes. Stefan kisses me softly, wiping at a fallen tear with his thumb, his eyes searching my face. "I'm so sorry, Elena."  
>This game, not being together, it's killing him, too. I fall into him, hugging him – I want to beg Stefan to rescue me, to take me away from all of this, but in reality it's him that I need saving from.<p>

STEFAN's POV

We've been gone for close to ten minutes, I'm guessing. We don't have much longer before Damon, or more than likely, Katherine begins to question where we've gone. I'm doing all I can to not touch her. I can see in Elena's eyes that she's trying to figure out what to do, I don't want to sway her one way or another – she's got to decide for herself if she no longer wants to be part of this salacious game. I don't know if she's hugging herself like she is because it's cold in this parking garage or if she's upset – probably both.

"What can I do?" I ask, I want to help her, be there for her.

She watches an SUV drive past us looking for a spot. When it's passed and we're alone in the dark silence again, Elena smiles at me. It's a sad smile and I know what she's going to say. I purse my lips together, feel myself frown – she's going to end us. This isn't how our story was supposed to be.

"We can't keep sneaking around like this." Releasing the words seems to take a weight from her body; I can see her physically relax.

Surprised, I swell with love and pride – joyful at the thought of this ending and Elena and I being together. "Come away with me. We can go anywhere, Elena. Let's go to Rio or, I've never been to Thailand! Or France… wherever you want. We can leave tonight."

"Stefan…" She sighs. For the life of me I can't figure out why she's not as jubilant as I am, "We can't"

"Yes we can." I move to her, taking her hands in mine. I kiss her fingers and look into her eyes, but she keeps looking away from me. "Elena we can be together, just come with me." I'm beginning to think my first instinct was right… that I'm losing her.

"And what about Damon?" She's saying this as a way to snap me back into reality, but the only reality I care about is living a life with her, loving her every day.

"To hell with him." I snap. "Elena, I can't do this. I won't live without you." When she pulls her hands from mine and steps back against the concrete wall, I get it. It's heavy and cold and lifeless, but I get it. "You're choosing Damon?"

"What choice do I have?" She cries, her voice shaky.

"_I'm your choice,_ Elena. Coming away with me, that's the choice!" I want to scream at her but I've lost all of my energy and the words come out strained from a raw voice. She shakes her head. "How can you do this? I know you love me… Elena." I move to her, but she's stiff and I know she doesn't want me to hold her, so I settle for standing close. I'm considering begging her. Getting on my knees and pleading with her to come with me.

"You and Damon are finally okay, I can't rip you two apart again."

"I'm telling you that he doesn't matter, I was wrong Elena. I can live without Damon, it's you that I need, don't you understand that?"

"Stop, Stefan, please."

I back away from her as I feel that thick and sweet anger rising in me. Seeping through my muscles, taking over my body. I don't want to hurt her, not at all, but I want to destroy something, someone. "I can't believe you're doing this, Elena! After all we've been through! How can you do this again?" I yell at her, slap at the side mirror on the car in front of me and it breaks off with a snap, flying across the garage. "How am I still not enough for you?"

Elena is startled by my strength, so am I, but I ignore it. "You're the one that left, Stefan. Not me. You left."

"I left?" I ask, surely she isn't talking about...

"You left me, Stefan. When you took off with Klaus-"

I interrupt her, shocked that she's putting this on me. "When I saved your beloved Damon? You're really bringing up when I had to leave with Klaus to save my brother's life?"

She's silent, steeling herself, "You didn't even say goodbye to me. You just took off, left me, again! After many tries, you finally did it, you left me, Stefan!"

"And what choice did_ I_ have, Elena? Tell me, what should I have done?" Our argument has just got very real, unearthing things we should have talked about years ago.

"Just tell me why you left without so much as a phone call! Why have you tried to leave me so many times?"

I can't talk about this. I swore I'd never discuss this with her. I know what it's like to carry guilt and it's the last thing I want for Elena. She'll blame herself for my falling into the darkness that plagues me.

"You had Damon, you didn't need me." I try to deflect even though I know it's not true. Her gasp tells me that it worked.

"I didn't want Damon. I WANTED YOU!"

"Bullshit, Elena!" I yell back at her, matching her tone. "How long was it after he came into town that you started wondering what it would be like to be with him? A few days, a week?" I have no idea why I'm saying these things, I know better. I know she was committed to me, 100%, at least until I left with Klaus.

"Why did you leave me?" Elena goes back to that question.

I try again, "When did you first know you loved him, Elena? It was after I started on human blood again, right? When I attacked that girl the night of the Miss Mystic Falls gala…"

"Why did you leave?" She knows me too well and she isn't going to let me swerve around her question. I'm pacing back and forth, she's as still as a statue. I can't remember feeling this kind of pain before…

I start again, "If you loved him why did you come looking for me? Why did you bring me back? You should have left me!"

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME, STEFAN?" She screams, demanding an answer.

I look at Elena – the only person that I've ever loved. She's strong and fragile, so lovely and loyal, yet she is as smart as she is beautiful. I can't keep this up… I feel the words leaving my mouth before I can muster the strength to stop them, they erupt across my tongue and over my lips, loud and thunderous. "BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T WANT TO TURN!"

I am so ashamed, yet I feel some kind of liberation from releasing the burden of the truth. I never wanted her to know that the day Klaus broke the sun and the moon curse, when Damon forced her to drink his blood, I was secretly thrilled to know that we'd be together forever. I forced her to say what I already knew, that she didn't want to be a vampire, but deep in my soul I knew that I'd never be happier. From the moment I fell for her, that night we sat in her bedroom – me on the floor and her on the bed, and we talked for hours – I'd wanted nothing more than for her to choose to be with me for eternity.

"What?" She sighs, confused. I'd never asked her to turn; we had never even talked about it before our hike that day.

"I left because you didn't want your future to be with me." I'm defeated and it can be heard in my weak voice. I am guilty - she knows my deepest and darkest secret; she knows that I gave up my fight against the bloodlust the moment she sealed our fates at dusk, looking over the falls, crying on my shoulder. I didn't try to find a way out of going with Klaus, I didn't try to escape before he compelled me because I knew that she and I had no future so long as she was human and I was a vampire. It hurt me deeply when she finally said that she didn't want to be a vampire; that she didn't want an eternity with me, and when Klaus gave me the opportunity to make a clean cut and leave, I took it. I took the coward's way out. I drowned myself, smothered by aching humanity with warm, iron rich blood flowing from the necks of my victims. Now all of this – Elena with Damon, it's all because of that single choice I made of using Klaus' bargain as an escape from the reality that though I'd go on loving Elena for hundreds of years, I was not who she saw in her future. I left with him to save Damon, to keep Klaus from learning that Elena was still alive… but I had my own chips in the game, as well.

"I didn't say that." Elena takes my face in her hands. Her touch is warm and soft, full of love. "I didn't mean that at all, Stefan."

"I know," Pulling her against me, I revel in the comfort of our embrace, "I know, but it was the truth. You didn't want to be a vampire. You wanted a family, to grow old… I couldn't give you those things."

"You left with Klaus because of me?" She sounds so small. I wonder if the guilt is moving in on her the way it envelopes me, suffocating and all-consuming.

I kiss her hair, move away and look at her face; she is so beautiful. "No, I didn't keep in contact with you because I wanted you to be able to move on. I didn't see a point in stringing us along when you and I couldn't be together the way you needed. But Elena, we can now. I can give you all those things that I couldn't before. Please, please come away with me." She shakes her head, "Elena, please don't you understand how much I love you?"

"I do, I love you too, Stefan. But I can't hurt Damon like that. I can't just leave…" Elena takes a step back from me and I fight back my tears. How many times in my life will I have to lose her? "He has never left me."

Those five words are more painful than anything I've ever felt. I've been stabbed, staked, set on fire, tortured with vervain, had my life sucked from my body by the wiccan temple – but nothing compares with the ache of the realization that Damon is the better man. This is a truth that will change me, ruin & haunt me for my life time.

Everything I've done, it was for Elena. For what I thought was best for her, would keep her safe. I didn't want my darkness to take over her life; I tried to leave to spare her from the pain, to keep her from having to face it. Damon stayed. "Elena..." How can I apologize for being inadequate?

Taking her phone from her pocket, she shakes her head as if to clear it from the fog of our demise. I know it's Damon who has texted, he's wondering where she is. Crossing her arms, she begins to head to the stairs leading down to the ground floor and out of the garage. "Elena, just consider it. Consider choosing me…" She stops in her tracks and I hear her sniffle. "I made terrible decisions, but believe me when I say that I only wanted you to be safe and happy. I should have never of left you, not for a minute… If I could go back I would, Elena. I'd change it all and we wouldn't be here now, not like this." When she looks over her shoulder at me, her endless brown eyes are sparkling in the halogen lights, tears creating a bright glitter around the rims and lashes. "Let me make it right, Elena. Come with me. Be with me." I'm begging her, my hands together in front of me, every word is prayerful. "Please, please Elena choose me."

DAMON's POV

This has been a fun night, but I'm hungry for blood and, to be honest, Katherine is getting to be too much to resist. Since Elena went AWOL half an hour ago Katherine has been laying it on pretty thick – and I haven't exactly been fighting her off. Elena's wish to wait until marriage is completely ridiculous, but there is no changing her mind. There is no way in hell I'd tell Katherine that I haven't got laid in months – she'd know that her undeniable sex appeal is having a powerful effect on me and that's not a card I can play – so before the alcohol and the unforgiving attraction to her gets the best of me, I need to collect Elena and head home.

Elena just text me back, she's on her way so the three of us, Lindsey, Katherine and myself, are waiting outside of the lobby entrance. The cool night air is helping to sober me a bit. I don't want to feel jealous, angry with Elena for going off with Stefan, but it's another fact of life – Elena and Stefan will always share something, something that I can't break no matter how hard I love her. I just wonder if she's going to deny that she was with him...

Lindsey is hugging Katherine and they are laughing like two lifelong friends. They are both incredibly attractive and all the humans passing on the sidewalk take them in. Even the women eye them, wishing they were as effortlessly beautiful as they are. The men on the other hand, they are sharing the same kinds of thoughts as I am about their friendly embrace… it's a fantasy that can never be filled no matter how many times you experience two women at once.

A different type of hunger begins to take over my thoughts just as Lindsey calls Elena's name, pointing down the sidewalk. The moment I see her my mind is put back on the straight and narrow; her face is full of pain, eyes a bit red from crying. I'm inspecting her, trying to evaluate what could be the matter when she walks straight into my arms and holds me tightly. I don't know what happened, but I'm growing quite angry with my brother – I know that he's the reason.

"Where is Stefan?" Katherine questions as she and Lindsey continue to look down the street in the direction Elena had come.

It takes Elena a moment to respond, not leaving my arms, just turning to face Lindsey and Katherine, head resting on my shoulder. "He went back to the hotel." I tense under her embrace.

"Burn, he left you in the hands of a couple of vampires!" Katherine teases. Lindsey looks truly offended that Stefan abandoned her, but plays it off with a quick smile.

"We can give you a ride." I offer. It'll give me a chance to kick his ass.

"No it's okay, I can walk…

"In those heels?" Katherine questions.

Lindsey kisses Katherine's forehead. "Mia sorella." _My sister_, Lindsey calls Katherine. After so many years running from a life that she couldn't escape, it's nice to see Katherine loosen up and be the girl I know she is – beneath all the pain and guilt and damnation that comes with being a vampire. "I'll be fine, the Omni is just a couple of blocks - it's not far at all."

"So what's the plan? You guys are leaving in the morning, right?" I ask, wondering when I'll get my chance to confront Stefan.

The thought seems to lighten Lindsey's mood again."Yes, six weeks to see the United States of America! I am so excited!"

We say our goodbyes to Lindsey and Katherine, and then head back to my car. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the way Elena is keeping herself against me, but I'm suspicious – this closeness has nothing to do with me, I'm sure. It's not a long drive back to my apartment – I don't ask if she wants to go to her dorm as I prefer her to stay with me and since I'm driving it's not an option, anyway.

"Tired?" I ask, probing her for more information as I toss my keys onto the countertop and she takes off her boots with a sigh. The few mile drive was been thick with unspoken tension and something about being on my turf gives me the extra push to find out what exactly happened. In a quiet voice she confirms her fatigue, but says nothing more.

Growing tired of this, I take a bag of blood from the fridge and empty it into a tumbler, taking a mouthful – letting it sit on my tongue for a moment. It's not comparable to blood directly from an artery, but it will have to do, it's something I have had to change about myself in order to be with Elena… one of many. I hear her in my bedroom, changing into some of the clothes that she's left here in the bottom drawer of my chest.  
>By the time she comes back to the kitchen, she's in a pair of pajama pants and a long sleeved tee shirt with her hair in a pony tail. Elena is still not really acknowledging that she's upset, giving me this fake smile as she moves behind me to fill a glass with water. I turn to watch her, observing as she sips the liquid of her life source and I gulp at mine until the glass is empty… I'm not satisfied and I'm feeling more and more restless and angry.<p>

"I'm hungry, Elena." I don't know where I'm going with this.

She faces me, her face unreadable. "Eat." She says simply. "Are you out of donor bags?"

I swallow. I don't want a donor bag. I don't want that cold excuse for nourishment. I want the hot fresh blood that flows beneath human skin. The idea of wanting the real thing but accepting a cold, stale replacement, reminds me of what Elena and I have, or don't have, really. "What happened in Naples?"

She's taken aback – as unsure of where that came from as I am. "Naples… what are you talking about?"

"With Stefan." I remember seeing nearly healed bite marks on her neck when we were on our flight back to the states. At the time, we were both lost in our own worlds of grief, but something about the strange distance between us reminds me of the light pink half-moon markings on her neck that I should have asked her about. "Did he feed on your blood?"  
>Unconsciously, Elena's hand moves to her neck, fingers barely touching her skin and eyes clouded with a distant memory of what I know to be a very intimate encounter. "Did Stefan force you or did you let him?" I know the answer. Why am I asking? Putting myself through this? Elena doesn't respond, her eyes on the floor give me all the information I need. "You know, I thought that you were different because he was dead. I thought you were grieving for him. I thought you'd recover in time and I wouldn't have to compete with him anymore." I sit my glass down on the counter loudly and she jumps a bit. "What happened in Naples that changed you? Changed you and me?"<p>

"Damon, it doesn't matter." Elena's voice is soft and I'd love to believe that whatever it was that happened is insignificant, but there's no reason to continue lying to myself. "I'm here, I'm with you."

I narrow my eyes on her, letting her lie hang in the air. "Are you?"

"I'm not in the mood for this tonight, Damon." She says, pretending to be frustrated with me, I know better. She's avoiding my questions. When she begins to walk away, I step in front of her and we share a long moment of me trying to read her while she does her best to wall-up and close off.

"You're with me?" I ask, she nods yes, never breaking eye contact. I feel my eyes begin to vein and darken, my pupils dilating and the fangs in my mouth extend from my gums.

Elena steps back, eyes widening with fear. "What are you doing?"

"I'm hungry Elena. You're soon to be my wife… I think it's time I get the same treatment as my brother." My mind is clouding with the thought of her warm blood filling my mouth; an ecstasy of flavor just below her skin.

"Damon, stop it!" She yells as I grab her by her upper arms and pull her against me. I'm not going to go through with it, I just want to know if she'd let me. I'm not at all surprised as she unsuccessfully tries to push me away, but my anger is kicked up another notch.

I release her with a shove and she stumbles back a few steps, her back against the stainless steel refrigerator. I let my fangs retract, my eyes return to normal. "Tell me what happened, Elena. I deserve to know what it is that I can't seem to defeat!"

Elena is angry now, too. It's good, now I'll get her to talk, to tell me what I need to know but do not want to hear. "You know I love Stefan, why are you acting like this?"

"I know you let him bite you. Did you sleep with him too, Elena?" It's almost more of an accusation than a question.

Her body language changes – she backs down a bit, crossing her arms. "No I didn't sleep with him in Naples."

"Why so specific? Was it in Miami, then?" I'm seething with fury.

"No."

I want to scream at her but it comes out through gritted teeth and a tight jaw. "Then what is it? What am I missing here, Elena?"

"Damon, don't make me do this. I'm going to marry you, I'm going to be with you, isn't that what you want?" She pleads.

I look down at her. Is that what I want? For her to settle and be with me? "I want you to be honest with me!" She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath. "What happened?" I say softer, thirsting for the truth. I remember seeing Stefan kissing Elena on the surfboard, wonder why things can't be like that for us.

Elena swallows, tightens her arms around her torso. "Damon. I love you. I do, okay? Naples, Miami… it's over. I told Stefan that it's over. Tonight, when we left the bar he and I talked and we decided that whatever he and I have has got to stop. He wants you to be happy, Stefan loves you and doesn't want to lose you."

I know all of this, I knew they talked; I knew it ended badly for them – "What happened in Naples?"

She purses her lips at me, aggravated that her little spill didn't satisfy me. "You want to know, really? Even though it doesn't matter?" I nod. "Fine, Damon. In Naples… In Naples I fell in love with Stefan all over again. Deeper and harder than ever before._ I chose him_. I asked him to change me. I didn't want to come back to Mystic Falls."

She didn't want to come back to me.  
>My soul dies.<br>I knew this already, but hearing her say it, confirm it, it's my funeral.

I swallow, I want the whole truth. "And Miami?" My voice is caught in my throat.

Elena shakes her head and looks away from me. I know this is going to be bad. "Damon…"

"What happened in Miami?"

"I chose him again. I took off your ring within minutes of seeing him. Is that what you want to hear? We kissed and nearly made love. We would have but he stopped us… I _wanted him _to be with me. We talked about having children and having a real, human future together…" She sighs heavily, pausing a moment. "When he learned that I'd agreed to marry you, Stefan pulled away. Told me that he couldn't betray you. He chose you over me, over himself. I chose Stefan and Stefan chose you." Children, a future… human. How can I compete with Stefan? "Does that make you feel better? To make me say all of this to you? To know that I can't stop loving him no matter how badly I want to love you?"

"And now…" it's a whisper, a whimper. Even after hearing all of this, I want her to choose me. My memories fly back to 1864, I see Katherine. "Why are you here if you love him, Elena?"

She shrugs, "Because I owe you as much. You've never left me, how can I leave you?"

Really, that's her answer? She's with me because she owes me? I take a step back, then another. "I don't need your pity, Elena."

"It's not pity, Damon. I love you-"

I interrupt, grabbing my jacket from the bar stool. "Look, Elena. You need to really think this through. I figure you've got about four or five hours to decide if you want Stefan. You can still catch him before he leaves with Lindsey." I check my watch, it's 1:30am. "I want you to turn, you want kids. I want you be a vampire and spend eternity with me… no one else. You need to decide if this is right you for."

I slip on my jacket and head towards the door. Elena grabs my arm. I could pull away, she's a feather to my strength of steel, but I don't. "Damon, please don't be like this. You wanted to know the truth… it doesn't change anything."

"The truth changes everything, Elena." I sigh. "Truth is, had Katherine been in that tomb, you and I would have never of happened. I would have left with her and you and Stefan could be sitting in some quaint little living room writing in your diaries and pretending he was human. Maybe this – you and me – maybe we're both settling."

Oddly, she doesn't appear to be stung by my words, giving them even more weight. "You don't mean that…"

"I don't know what I mean, Elena. But you need to decide, tonight. Either you're with me because you love me, not because you _owe me_, or you're not. Simple as that. Taking Stefan out of the equation completely… I don't need your pity and don't for one second think that you're my only option. You're not the only one who had to make a choice." I move to the door. "When I told you that Katherine wanted to be with Stefan… I lied. She came to Mystic Falls to find me, she wanted to be with me. So don't let your worry that I'll be alone jade your decision. I picked you because I wanted you, not because I had no other option." Just before I close the door, I add. "If you're not here when I get back in the morning, then I'll know where we stand."

And with that finally off of my chest, I let the door close behind me. I'm hungry and am no longer concerned with Elena's 'no hurting humans' request. I'll feed until I can't feel anything anymore.


	6. Chapter 6

Have you ever noticed that when you try to sleep it just never happens?

I'm laying here in this perfectly suitable hotel room in pitch black, just like I like it, on a somewhat firm mattress with clean cotton sheets. There's no sound keeping me from slumber as the air conditioners steady hum has a white noise affect. I'm not too cool or too warm – I've showered so I don't feel restless from skipping a routine gesture. I keep trying to force my breathing to be more like it is when I sleep – slow and shallow – but it just makes me mess up the natural rhythm of my lungs and I end up feeling like I'm about to hypo-ventilate or have a panic attack. I guess I've been laying here for at least a couple hours now and I'm beginning to feel like I'm imprisoned beneath the sheets.

My mind just will not stop, yet it's pretty much a blank slate. Tomorrow morning, I'll get out of this bed and I'll leave this room and I'll keep going… won't I? I really have no plans without Elena. I don't want to make any plans without her. What am I saying? Suicide?

No, no way. If the day comes that Elena decides that I am the man for her, I will be there and I'm not dumb enough to take myself out of this world if I can have even a minute more with her.

I rub my face with both hands, rake my fingertips roughly across my scalp a few times. Frustrated, I sit up straight in my bed, pull my knees up and rest my elbows on them – allow my neck to relax, dropping my head between my biceps. The stretching of my tight neck and shoulder muscles is painful but rewarding and I give a slow exhale as they stretch even further with a slight side-to-side rock of my head.

I wonder if she's called or sent a text.

My phone has been on the bedside table with my wallet and watch, the volume is up and I haven't slept a wink so I know she hasn't, but I reach for it anyway – just to make sure. It's 3:42am, Sunday, April 28th – I make note of the date.

April 28th will forever be the last day I kissed Elena. The last day I touched her face, the last time I held her and heard her voice in my ear - the last time I felt whole. It's not an anniversary one wants to remember, but it's the kind of thing that cuts you so deep, wounds you through and through, you can't escape it.

She hasn't tried to contact me. I'm sure she's asleep, resting comfortably in Damon's arms. I wonder if Elena lays on him the way she used to with me. There's nothing I wouldn't do to feel that again…

"Jesus, Stefan…" I sigh, I've got to stop this. I'm just so angry with myself for losing her.

Standing, I feel my anger morphing into rage, tensing my muscles – I thought all of this fury was because I was a vampire, but I can't get away from it. My breathing increases, my chest heaving and my jaw clenched. My hands make tight fists at my sides – I have to do something, I can't just let us end like this. But what? What can I do when she's made her choice and it's not me?

I hear my phone crack in my tight grip and the sound pisses me off for some reason. Before I can decide against it, I move into a full wind up, putting my entire body into throwing the phone against the wall and it shatters like glass. It took out some sheet rock and the black plastic and chalky white crumbles on the floor make me feel a bit better – I have kinship with the mangled pieces lying on the carpet, we are annihilated and shattered versions of our past selves.

My eyes are still inspecting the broken phone when I hear a knock at my door. It's either Lindsey or the hotel's staff coming to find out what's going on – someone may have complained about the boom the phone made against the wall.

I'm ready to apologize, calmed enough to act like a sane person, and open the door to a smiling face that I'll never be able to forget. She's holding a bottle of Svedka vodka and two plastic cups from the hotel room bathrooms.

"Feel like drinking away your sorrows with an old friend?" Katherine gives me a half smile. I look her over quickly; her resemblance to Elena hurts me, then nod for her to enter.

I close the door behind us, watching her as she sits the plastic cups on the desk and opens the vodka – pouring each cup full to the brim. It's dark, very dark in my room, but I can just make out her silhouette. When she goes to turn on the desk lamp, I reach for her hand. "Leave it off."

I don't feel like being in the light, I don't feel like I deserve to be.

"Okay." Katherine's voice is soft, tired even. "The window then."

I take one of the cups and down it as quickly as I can while Katherine opens the black-out curtains and the room is illuminated with a blue-grey hue. The burn from the alcohol scalds around my teeth, under my tongue, all the way down my throat and into my stomach and it's a sting that seems earned. I fill my cup again, sit on the edge of the bed, wonder if I should put on a shirt.

"Things went bad with Elena I take it?" Katherine asks, sipping at the vodka and taking a seat next to me.

I shake my head, pop my neck. "Things went bad with Elena a long time ago. Things ended with Elena tonight, if that's what you're asking." I toss back the entire cup of vodka as Katherine eyes me.

She stands and takes the bottle from the table, refilling her cup then hands the bottle to me. I look up at her and smile despite my unfriendly mood as my hand wraps around the cool glass and I bring it to my lips. I want to kill my nerves, not feel this pain.

"It's probably a day late, dollar short" Katherine sighs, leaning against the table and toeing a couple of the plastic pieces on the floor with her boot, "but I am sorry… I know my returning to Mystic Falls set some of this in motion. I didn't want you to get hurt, Stefan."

Inhaling deeply, I delight in the cool air feeling even colder against my lips and alcohol glazed throat. I look up at her and can see that she's hurting too. It's different for Katherine because it's been over a hundred years since she let herself love Damon, but it took a lot to allow herself to try to be with him after running for so long. Katherine asked me to help her get Damon back from Elena that morning, when I walked her to her car the day I returned to Mystic Falls. I didn't really believe her. Thought she was playing a game of some sort, but I can see now that she was being honest with me for the first time since I've known her.

"You didn't come out of this on top, either." It's the best I can do to tell her I forgive her. I'd be an idiot to blame her when Elena flat out told me that she's choosing Damon because he's dependable and steady. Not because I was a murderous, blood thirsty, monster – not because I brought pain and death to her small town life, and not because my ex-girlfriend came into town and hunted her and her family. Elena made it through all of that and in the end it is my short-comings as a man that have caused her to turn away from me. – I wince at the thought, hurting my own feelings.

She gives a sarcastic laugh, "True. But I'm tougher than you."

"Oh?" I smile.

The alcohol is starting to soak into me now and my eyes move on their own; watching her wet lips move as she talks.

"You're a good man, Stefan. You're good and kind and sweet. You're selfless…" Her words inflate me a bit. The way Katherine says my name, even the way her tongue touches the roof of her mouth when it forms the 'an' sound of Stefan, it's just like Elena. "You were never meant to be a vampire, to live like I do."

I'm inspecting her face – the gentle arch of her dark brows, the way her lashes create a shadow against her eyelids. How her eyes are so dark that they absorb the blackness of her pupils, seemingly endless and warm. I stand to get a better look, a better angle. Katherine seems a bit surprised, but she keeps still. I don't tell my arm to bend or my shoulder to rotate, but the next thing I know my fingers are against Katherine's neck, my thumb tracing at the gentle curve of her bottom lip. I'm amazed at how her mouth is a small smile when her face is relaxed, like Elena's. I'd watch her, holding Elena while she slept, and try to figure out how she could smile so sweetly without even trying. I want to kiss Elena's smiling lips…

Katherine closes her eyes, leans into my hand. She's an exact and complete replica of my love incarnate. I want Elena more than life. Just once more, I want to hold her, taste her, and breathe her in even when I know that one more time will just lead to wanting her again and again... an endless need.

My lips are almost touching Katherine's; we're so close that I can feel the breath that she pulls in through her parted lips. It's everything I can do to not move any closer, to try and fill the hole Elena has left with this forgery of a woman I'm holding in front me. I want to – God do I want to lose myself in her, but I know it will be a sad parody of what I have with Elena. I bite my upper lip - aggravated with myself for getting this far, aggravated for being too decent to continue – then turn my head from Katherine.

I can't step away from her before she takes my chin in her hand and pulls my face back to her forcefully. She kisses me. Her tongue, slipping between my lips, tastes like vodka and tangerines. I'm caught off guard - my hormones take over and I respond – pressing my body against her, pinning her to the table. I'm kissing her so hard that she's leaning backwards, her head nearly against the wall, hands holding up her weight on the table top as mine grab at her body.

Everything is Elena.

The smoothness of the skin on her lower back, the curve of her hips, the way my hand is filled with her flesh when I grab her ass and lift her onto the table. My mind is fighting with itself to remember that this is Katherine, this is not Elena – these are not Elena's hands in my hair, grazing down my bare back. It's Katherine's hot mouth against my chest and neck, licking and sucking at my earlobe. Elena is not pulling off her top, it's not Elena... but if I can just stop thinking, stop forcing myself to remember, I can believe that it is.

I squeeze my eyes shut tighter, distracted by images of Elena and losing the shared rhythm with Katherine.

She can feel me losing interest and kisses me more passionately, pressing her heels against the backs of my thighs. "Let go, Stefan." Her voice is seductive, hypnotizing – I recommit to this, to her – fisting my hand in her hair and pulling her back, my mouth making its way down her chest, between her breasts. I'm plenty aroused, but this encounter is doing nothing to numb the pain of losing Elena. What's missing, why is this not working?

It takes me a moment more of tasting her skin and hearing Katherine's gentle moans when it hits me – this insufficient feeling, what cannot be replaced with Elena's mirror image is that sparking and invigorating pull, the beckoning magnetism that hums between my body and Elena's… only Elena's.

This realization angers me because I want Katherine to be a replacement; I need to be able to believe it. This is going to work – I tell myself – pushing the fabric of her skirt up her thighs, slipping my hands beneath it and taking the thin, lacy elastic waist band of her panties in my fingers. This is going to work – I mentally command myself to continue, but when my hands leave Katherine's hips and rest on the table top I know it's no use. I'm just not this guy.

Stepping back, my forehead on Katherine's bare shoulder, I'm bent over her, heaving and breathless when her hands leave my body. I can't do this to Elena – I can't use Katherine like this. When I feel her touch again, gently hugging my shoulders, her hand stroking my face, there is no more passion – it's a friendly and caring embrace - she understands.

My brain translates my body's frustration into a quick and explosive force that comes from deep in my gut muscles and rolls through me, finding its release when I slam my fist against the wall behind Katherine as I push myself away from her and stand straight. I hear my knuckles pop, possibly break, but I don't care. I only notice that my fist is bleeding when I grab Katherine's top from the floor and hand it to her. Thought I don't say anything, my teeth digging into my lips, I hope that she can tell that I'm sorry for what just happened, for what didn't happen - Katherine was looking for a way to forget Damon just as I was hoping to ease the agony of losing Elena.

I can tell she's about to say something, but I just want her to go. I want to be alone. If I can't rid myself of my loneliness then I'll accept it and wallow in it – let it take me down, wear me through. "You need to go. Now." My tone isn't rude in the least, but the quietness of my voice carries a firmness to it that she doesn't defy. I move to the exit, watch as she pulls her shirt back on then open the door, let my eyes fall to the floor.

It's instant and all-consuming –that magnetism. It wraps around me, fills me, and actually dulls my aching soul. It's all slow motion, turning my head and my eyes taking her in – standing there with a suitcase in hand and her backpack hanging from her shoulder – smiling at me, choosing me.

"Elena." She is manna from heaven.

ELENA's POV

He must have heard me coming up the hall because he opens the door before I can knock and the sight of him – Stefan Salvatore, my Greek God, shirtless and in a pair of low sitting blue drawstring pants – it takes the words from my mouth.

I had a speech planned. I would knock, first of all… and when he opened the door I'd tell him that he was right, all along he's been absolutely right. I love him and I will be with him and we'll marry and have a house full of children and together we'll go through life's up's and downs. I was going to tell him that there is nothing in this world that can tear us apart and that I'll never be confused or question that again. I was going to say all of that, but I can only smile up at him.

Those green eyes that I find so captivating are on fire, all heavy-lids and dark lashes from the sleep I've woke him from. He's not smiling but I can tell that he's surprised to see me. Stefan's lips are more red than usual, I notice, swollen almost and his hair is awfully messy.

"Excuse me…" A quiet voice comes from the darkness behind Stefan. A woman's voice.

I frown in confusion, there's a woman in his room? His lips are red, his hair a mess, he's shirtless, I think I smell alcohol – panic washes across his beautiful Roman face and his eyes widen just as Katherine steps between us and out into the hallway. My eyes follow her and I catch my breath when I see that her appearance matches Stefan's.

Their lips are red and swollen because they've been kissing.

Their hair is not messy from sleep, but from their hands and sheets and the pillows and oh my God I just want to lie down in this hallway and die.

Stefan steps toward me cautiously. "Elena, it's not –"

"Nothing happened, Elena." Katherine frowns at me, interrupting Stefan. I don't know if I hear them or not, my blood is pumping through my veins so fast that it's rumbling in my eardrums.

I feel Stefan's hand coming to me, he's going to take a hold of my free hand. I jerk it way before his fingers make contact, I glare at him. I'm so hurt. I'm so angry. I'm such a fool…

With my heart in my throat and all of my energy focused on not crying in front of Katherine, I cannot speak – can't even form a full thought. I'll hide this damage from her, from them – it's not fair that they get to see me weak and pathetic. Before I lose control of my emotions, I turn and walk as quickly as I can to the elevator. Stefan calls my name, I ignore him – I've got to get away from them before I burst into a tearful, sobbing mess. I send a silent prayer to thank God when the elevator opens as soon as I push the down button.

KATHERINE's POV

"Stefan," I don't know what to do here. This looks really bad – dreadfully bad. He's in a panic, putting on his shirt, trying to find his shoes. "I'll get her okay. I'll go."

I should have reacted quicker, but honestly I was just as surprised to see her as he was. Her being here may just screw up everything!

The elevator is already moving down by the time I get to it, so I speed to the staircase and hit the ground floor before the elevator doors can open. Elena and I lock eyes just as she's exiting the elevator and I'm coming out of the stairwell. I just don't have the patience for her that the Salvatore brothers do and I know I sound bitchy when I call for her to stop. When she narrows her eyes at me and continues towards the lobby, I speed to her and stop in her path.

"Haven't you done enough?" Her bratty little mouth says to me. I consider smacking her across the room but remember that Stefan will be down momentarily and he'd never forgive me for bruising her in the slightest. He can forget that I changed him, compelled him, fed from his body, played him against his brother, turned his father against him… but Elena is untouchable.

I step towards her, reminding her which one of us is in charge here. "I could ask you the same thing." It's true – I've not done anything to these boys that she hasn't, less the vampire side of it all. The minuscule change in her expression tells me that whether she likes it or not she knows it's true.

After a moment of what I am sure was her replaying all the times she's wronged Stefan and Damon, she focuses on me again. "Just let me leave, please?"

My lips part to tell her that she's being stupid, that what she saw was not what she thinks and that Stefan is all hers, but my heightened hearing catches the sound of a voice that gives me a shudder of fear. Elijah's unmistakable smooth voice and silky accent shut me down. I don't move, listening to Elijah speaking to the hotel clerk and try to hear Stefan – where is he? Elijah will rip him into shreds if he finds that Stefan is alive. It's all falling apart – my plan to get the Originals off of my back. When Damon learns that I've sold out the witch, that I'm working with them to bring Klaus back...

"Kath-" I shove my hand over Elena's mouth and pull her into the stairwell as I hear Elijah's footsteps coming around from the lobby towards the elevators. The door is still closing when he rounds the corner, but I am not noticed. I'm not shocked to see him really, I knew the plan. I agreed to lead them to the witch and they believed that she was here to visit me. What throws me off guard, makes me look twice at Elijah is that he's with Caroline Forbes.

Elena is trying to squirm away, she's screaming under the pressure of my hand and I'm sure she thinks I'm going to kill her… I would, but I know better. Just as I'm about to let her go and explain why I had to drag her into the stairwell, a set of extremely strong hands pull me away from her. I land hard on the concrete, smacking my head against the cinderblock wall. Despite the pain I stand quickly, turning to face my enemy – it's Stefan and he's raging.

For the third time tonight I am taken aback. I know he's human. I can smell his blood and hear his heartbeat. How could he have thrown me like that? I attribute it to adrenaline.

Stefan is glaring at me, bowed up and ready to fight for her - confusing my holding Elena for me threatening her. When he comes at me I react and pin him against the wall, my fingers digging into his soft human throat. There's no way he can break free of me, I'm older and stronger… and he's just a human. I don't worry when his fingers wrap around my wrist, just below his chin – but his grip is so painful. He's squeezing my wrist with immeasurable force. The bones crack first and I loosen my grip as he squeezes even tighter. I feel my bones crumbling – it's torture.

"Stop! Stefan!" Elena calls. Our movements have been too quick for her and I can see that she had no idea that he was still capable of this.

The way he immediately responds to her command reminds me of a trained security dog and I'm pretty impressed with my doppelgangers impact on Stefan. It's like he can't think for himself, her words are his compulsion and, just like that, he releases my broken limb.

We all breathe for a moment – the two of them staring at one another like they are looking into a light that's too bright.

"What the hell, Stefan?" I ask, rubbing at my bones in repair. "How are you so strong? Stronger than me?"

He looks at me, I can see the uncertainty on his face, but he ignores it and me. "Are you okay?" Something about the way he talks to her, how his hand gentle touches her face, it hurts me. I want that, too.

Elena moves her face from his hand and I've finally had enough of this. "You're such a child, Elena." They both look at me – Elena's doe-eyed innocent expression an exact opposite of Stefan's angry glare. "And you, Stefan, you've got to get control of your anger." I saw the hole in the wall, I see his knuckles are bruised and bleeding from his outburst in the hotel room. "Elijah is out there and you two are in here bouncing off the walls like two toddlers throwing a tantrum. If we're going to get out of this alive, you two have got to calm down!" My voice is at its normal volume but I know they can feel the aggravation in my tone.

"Elijah…" Elena whispers. Stefan turns to face me, still keeping his body between Elena and I like a shield.

"What's going on, Katherine?" he asks, eyeing me suspiciously and rightfully so.

I don't see any need in sugar coating it – he's going to find out the truth sooner or later, anyway. May as well deal with him and his anger with Elena, his commander, around to help should I need her to call him off. I put my hands on my hips and give a little sigh. "I was in Stefan's hotel room to keep him busy. I knew Elijah or Rebekah one would be here to get take Lindsey and I didn't want him getting caught up in it." I say to Elena, all matter of fact and to the point. "They need Lindsey to free Klaus. I have no idea what they're going to do or why they need her, but Elijah came to me and offered me their forgiveness if I could find her for them. They told me all about what happened and how you –" I swallow, I still feel so uncomfortable about Stefan's death. Another reminder that I did love him, I do still. "…died, or whatever. I knew Lindsey's grandmother too and I knew that you and Lexi spent time with her years ago - it wasn't hard to put the pieces together and figure out who the witch was that helped you take down Klaus. The Originals have no idea that you're alive, Stefan…"

I don't need to finish my sentence, they understand what the Original's will do if they find out that Stefan did not die that night.

"I have to help her, I can't let them take Lindsey." Stefan grabs for the door, but I hold it shut. He's so good that he's self-destructive!

"There's nothing you can do, Stefan." He pulls at the door, ignoring me. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

His eyes narrow as he tries to figure out his next step. Stefan Salvatore, the everlasting hero – no matter how many times he's the underdog, no matter how many failures he's involved in, he still believes that he has to right the wrongs of the world. I can see that he's not budging, determined to save the witch, so I play a card I know will work. "You're going to get Elena killed!"

Stefan turns to Elena and I don't know what they're doing but I swear their speaking to one another in silence. His back is to me, but I can see Elena's expression change from confusion, to what appears to be concentration, then to agreement with a slight nod of her head as their hands find each other. Honestly, I'm jealous of them. I will never admit it, but all I've ever wanted was to be part of a love like that…

"Take her home." Stefan says to me.

"And what are you going to do?" He's an idiot if he thinks his superhuman strength can overpower Elijah!

I guess he can tell what I'm thinking, that he won't last a second against an Original. "If they take her from here we'll never see her again if we don't track them. I'm human; they won't sense me following them." My frown tells him that I'm not convinced. "I'll be careful."

"Just let me go with them. They think I'm on their team! Besides, you two could probably make good use of some alone time." I mean it as a joke, but then I remember how he was kissing me earlier and feel a bit flushed. I knew what he was doing; Elena looking just like me made it a whole lot easier for him to pretend I was her.

Stefan rolls his eyes at me – too soon to joke about it, I guess. "Katherine, just take her, please. I can't protect her anymore."

I've already started the car when Elena gets in the passenger seat – I'll taxi her around but she can load her bags into the trunk herself. I'd been listening to Coldplay and it starts back up in the middle of the last song that was playing, Trouble. It's loud and I don't turn it down. There is no need for us to talk really. We're related, very distantly, and I guess that should mean something, but it doesn't mean a thing.

I'd decided that I would take her to Mystic Falls before we even started this drive and as I pass the University of Virginia exit I feel Elena's eyes on me. She's so annoying… "Vampires can get in dorm rooms - we can't get in Stefan's house unless he invites us, remember?" She exhales slowly, taking her judging eyes off of me and we drive without speaking, listening to Coldplay and Sonic Youth.

I don't have a favorite kind of music, the instruments and beats don't really mean much to me – it's the lyrics that I find pleasure in. I've been alive for hundreds and hundreds of years and a well-versed poem is about the only thing that still has an effect on me.

Half an hour into our two hour trip, I'm watching the dark, deserted highway, examining Chris Martin's words about wooden houses and living when the sun comes out and questioning if maybe he's a vampire when Elena's twerpy little voice interrupts my thoughts.

"Thank you. For keeping Stefan safe from the Originals." Elena isn't looking at me, her eyes straight ahead. When I don't reply – I don't see a reason to, I mean it's not like I've ever tried to get Stefan or Damon hurt and it shouldn't have been a surprise to Elena that I'd do what I can to keep them out of harm's way – she starts to talk again, but I interrupt.

"I will do what's necessary to keep the Salvatore brothers and myself safe, Elena. If Stefan wants me to protect you, I will, but that doesn't mean you and I are friends and I see no reason in us attempting small talk."

"Agreed." She replies flatly and I feel a hint of pride that my doppelganger granddaughter seems to have got a bit stronger since I first met her. I'd half expected her to burst into tears at my words, but she seems unscathed. "But I need to know, did you and Stefan…"

Nevermind that prideful feeling! Rolling my eyes and sighing with exasperation – she can't even say it! – I turn down the music. "Did we what?" I probe.

I can sense how uncomfortable my question is making her and I'm not surprised when she crosses her arms and turns away from me. I'm not going to coddle her and if that's what she expects from me then she's going to be sorely disappointed.

DAMON's POV

With one last long, hard pull from her artery, I swallow the end of her life and it fills me with a rapture that is truly beyond description. Dropping her body at my feet and licking at my lips, not wasting a drop of her, I search for my pants. Filling up on blood after a good orgasm or two is the best way to end a night. Lindsey was more than happy to help me with that first pleasurable experience, less so when I vamped out and ripped through her jugular. I should probably feel worse than I do – I've just 'murdered' my brothers Italian fling and broken Elena's cardinal rule, but she broke mine first. I've never actually came out and said it; Stay away from Stefan – but she's bright enough to know that I seethe when they're around each other, especially when they're alone. Stefan deserves this, losing his witch… still, it won't hurt him as bad as when I have to watch the way Elena looks at him or hear her say his name in her sleep.

I don't want to delve into that right now, it's the buzz kill of all buzz kills and I'm on a high that I haven't experienced in quite some time.

I decide that I'm going to go pay Stefan a visit as I button my shirt. Lindsey mentioned his room number when I asked if she thought Stefan would care that we were sleeping together – it'll be nice to see him wallow around and brood about me killing Lindsey. Maybe he'll come at me and it will give me another excuse to lay into him. I've just slipped on my boots and stepped into the hallway when I hear the elevator at the end of the hall ding and Elijah's unmistakable accent. I don't stop to wonder what he's doing here – probably going to take revenge on Stefan - and I'm damn sure not waiting for him to see me! I speed to Stefan's room and, though I could easily break the lock and get in, the door is wedged open with the metal hasp. Elijah probably hasn't even stepped off of the elevator and I'm already in Stefan's dark hotel room. If anyone is going to kill Stefan, it'll be me.

Allowing for my eyes to adjust, I stay still for a moment, but when I don't see him in his bed, anywhere in the room, I'm suddenly very worried that Elijah may already have him. The bed is a mess and there's a hole in the wall. Taking a few steps farther into the room, I step on something, breaking it – it takes me a minute, examining the shiny black plastic shards on the carpet, but I realize it's his cell phone. I hate Stefan in the way siblings hate each other. It's probably a blend of jealousy that began at birth and far too much love. Yea, fine, I love Stefan, whatever. The point is I hate him too and don't want him to die at the hands of anyone but his big brother.

Elijah has had plenty of time to come down the hall and make it to this room; wondering where he's at, I focus, leaning in towards the west wall, and try to hear him:

"…is unfortunate. Have any idea who to thank for this mess?" Elijah sounds calm, but there's an undertone to his voice that's somewhat intimidating, especially when I'm sure it's me that made the mess. He's got to be talking about the dead witch.

There's a pause, so I step closer to the wall just in case I'm not picking up the voice of who ever he's speaking to. My hands splay open on the sheetrock.

"Katherine?" That female voice is familiar, "But that wouldn't make sense, she led us to Lindsey, why would she kill her?" Katherine… Katherine led the Originals to Stefan and his witch? Why?

"Damon." I flinch violently, Stefan's voice is a whisper but it's the surprise of him sneaking up on me that startles me. "What are you doing here?"

I'm relieved to see him. "I'm here to save your little human life." I whisper, annoyed that he took me off guard like that. "Elijah is in the witch's room. Where were you?"

I think I see his eyes shift away from me, but I can't focus on it long as Elijah starts talking again:

"What about the little one? Rebekah said she seemed competent - very powerful."

"She's very young, Elijah." So it's not Rebekah, who is that?

Stefan's eyes flare. "What's he talking about?" I ignore him.

The woman talks again, "What about one of the others? Elena knows Cruz, I can get his location out of her pretty easily." It's Caroline. I can see that Stefan recognized her voice by his deep furrowed brow. It just hits me that he can hear them too…

"Kol killed him a few nights ago. Now with this one dead we're two down. I'd rather not waste any more time. We'll find the sister and she can do it."

"And what about this… someone is obviously working against us." Caroline adds, referring to Lindsey's half-naked, bloodless body.

I hear the hotel room door open as Elijah says "I'd guess that Damon Salvatore has something to do with it."

My eyes do not have time find Stefan's face before I feel his hand close around my throat.

ELENA's POV

It's strange to be in the Salvatore Boarding House all alone – Katherine can't get in so she's been in her car while I showered and attempted to sleep. I stood in the hallway between Damon and Stefan's rooms… unable to decide which bed to sleep in. I wanted to wrap myself up in Stefan's sheets, but until I can speak with Damon, it's dangerous for me to give into my desires for everything Stefan. Plus, I'm still upset and unsure about what went on with Stefan and Katherine.

The house is the same as it was, though Damon's alcohol is gone and Stefan has the kitchen fully stocked with organic this and all natural that. There are lot of high-protein snacks in the cabinet, fresh fruits in a wooden bowl on top of the kitchen island, and a variety of flavored waters in the fridge… not a single bag of blood. That fact alone fans the fire that I hold deep within me, my burning love for Stefan.

The dawn is seeping in through the windows and I've yet to sleep. I'm so tired that I feel a bit dizzy, but I've sent five texts and called him three times and Stefan has not responded – my worry is keeping me from being able to relax enough to rest. I can't even finish the bowl of ice cream I have in front of me – yes, in a kitchen packed full of healthy choices I managed to find the single most fattening item! I decide to use the ice cream as a peace offering for Katherine.

I'm surprised to see her sitting on the porch when I open the oversized wooden door. She looks just as worn out as I feel. Giving her my best smile, I extend my arm holding her bowl, "Cherry Garcia?"

I think I see her eyes smile a bit as she takes the bowl from me. For no particular reason, I stay on my side of the threshold and sit opposite her – we're mirror images as we quietly spoon at our dessert for breakfast.

"Have you heard from Stefan?" I ask. She shakes her head no, mouthful of ice cream. "I'm beginning to worry…"

"He broke his phone." Katherine replies indifferently. My brow furrows a bit, and without looking at me she continues. "I don't know how or why, but I know it's broken because I saw it in pieces on his hotel room floor."

Oh yes, she was in his room. Her lips were so red from the friction of their kisses… I feel my chest tighten. "Did you sleep with him?" The words just come out of my mouth – their flat and emotionless. My brain and my heart decided to jump rank and skipped my filter entirely.

Katherine gives a devious smile to her spoon full ice cream. My fear tells me that she's remembering him, on her… in her; I feel nauseous.

"No."

"No?" I don't believe her even though I'm sure she wouldn't lie about it to spare my feelings. They sure looked like they'd just finished up…

Katherine turns her head to me, "Are you really that dense? You can't tell that he's desperately in love with you?" I want to say something about how it was obvious something had gone on, but Katherine continues, "I love him, Elena. The same way you love Damon. It hurts you to see Damon hurt, doesn't it? And you want to make things right when he's upset… after I saw you snotting all over Damon when you came back from your rendezvous with Stefan I knew you guys had a falling out. I needed to occupy him anyway, so I picked up some alcohol and got him drunk. You and I are just going to have to come to terms with the fact that our appearances make us interchangeable. And it's confusing for them."

"Meaning?" I ask, I need to know what happened.

She frowns, looks at me like I'm stupid. "Meaning Stefan can use me when he wants you. Meaning Damon thinks he's in love with you because he wants me." Maybe I am stupid because everything she just said seems to make complete and perfect sense and I have no idea why I wasn't able to see that on my own. "None of us should have even met, Elena. How can we expect this to be easy when just knowing each other is against nature?"

We sit quietly for a moment, listening as the birds wake and chirp in the cool morning air and the clinking of our spoons against the bowls in our laps.

"Did he?" I still need to know what happened, I don't know why, but it's tearing me up. Katherine seems to not know what I'm asking. "Did Stefan- use, you?" The words are hard to form and come out of my mouth choppy and strained.

She swallows. "He tried. I wanted him to. But Stefan isn't like me, or you for that matter…" I see her eyes light up like she's just had an epiphany. "Stefan loves so deeply and so purely that he's blinded to all others. He's captivated by it. He devotes his entire being to loving you and, though I thought he loved me in 1864, it doesn't compare to how he loves you, Elena."

I feel like I'm melting into myself, warmed by the thought of Stefan loving me like that. I know she's right, but actually hearing it from someone that knows him, knows us and our history, it's like receiving a gift. Being in the middle of all of this all of the time without a break, without a moment to breathe, it makes clarity a trait that's hard to come by. Katherine is able to look at us from the outside; she's able to see what we are without the haze of confusion from all the death and the pain.

"And Damon?" I ask. She's very insightful – I've never known her to be anything but ruthless – and I'd like to know her thoughts on Damon.

Her brows knit together, "You tell me."

I'm surprised, not sure what I should say. "He says he loves me."

"And he does… like I love Stefan."

"How do you love Damon?"

Katherine's eyes spark and her lips curve into a smile, a shy smile I notice. "The way you love Stefan."

"And Damon loves you, like Stefan loves me," I sigh, its plain as day. "He's loved you for 145 years…"

She picks up her phone, "Damon and Stefan are a lot alike. They both love like there's nothing else in the world… but Damon has a self-worth thing and I broke his heart by trying to stay away from him, to keep him safe from Klaus. I'm not sure if there is hope for me and him or not, but you've got to stop this confused little girl act or no one's going to come out of this thing in one piece. You've known for a long time now that Stefan is the one for you, but it's easier and feels safer to keep yourself a little detached - throw in that 'oh but I love him too' wrench… Take it from someone who knows, Elena, in the end you're just missing out on the only thing in life that's worth the risk."

Her words are truth hanging heavy in the air between us. She's saying everything that I've been too scared to admit that I already know. Looking at her now, she's different, knowing that she feels, that she loves… that we are alike in both soul and appearance. I wonder what she was like before…

"Did you love the man that fathered your child?" I try to say it as sensitively as I can, but I swear each syllable crosses her like a whip. The pain is evident on her face for a millisecond before she regains her usual arrogant expression. She doesn't need to answer; I've felt that exact pain – I recognize the agony of losing your soul mate. Even though Stefan has returned to me, the image of him falling to his knees on that temple still brings me to the edge of sanity. "I'm sorry." I apologize and mean it – hundreds of years could not dull that kind of suffering.

"His name was Viktor…" Katherine's eyes shine with unshed tears as she looks out over the front lawn. "He was a… priest, I guess. There's not an English word for what he was. The religion is extinct now, but he was a church leader for the village's temple of Bogomils. As a church leader he was supposed to abstain from sex, marriage, alcohol, meat even. Viktor had never even touched a girl…" She smiles brightly remembering him, giving a small laugh. "He was nineteen years old and the day he pulled me out of the way of that unmanned carriage – saving my life – that was the first time he'd had physical contact with a woman. I was 16, and I should have been married already, but my betrothed was fighting with the King's army and I was in-wait for him to return. The moment I felt Viktor's arms around my waist, heard his voice – in that moment I loved him, right then." She clears her throat, blinks rapidly for a moment – regains her composer. When she speaks again her voice is missing the dream-like quality that it had just seconds before. "I pursued him, which was quite scandalous… and like usual I got my way. Viktor wrote these beautiful sonnets for me and would leave them in my windowsill… We had an incredible love for two seasons, but when we were caught, just after the first snow of winter…" When Katherine inhales I hear her shaking and I want to hold her but I know better. I stay as still as I can, letting her speak about her lost love. "When we were caught, they beat him and whipped him and they hung him in the square for defying his God and taking up with another wife. Father nearly killed me with his fists, but mother stepped in and stopped him just before he went too far. It was then that the doctor came to see about me and clean the wounds from my father's beating when I learned I was pregnant."

She puts her phone to her ear; it's Katherine's abrupt way of letting me know that we are finished with this extremely personal and unique glimpse into who she was before the scars of her long, long life callused her to the point of numbness.

Her voice is much more controlled, much thinner than it had been when she was speaking of Viktor. "Where are you? – I brought her to Stefan's – It's the safest choice, Damon. – Fine, okay. – See you in a bit." Katherine stands, leaving the empty bowl of ice cream on the brick, "They are fine. They'll be here in about an hour. I suggest you figure out how you're going to put an end to your ridiculous love triangle before you lose your chance."

I'm curled up on the leather couch, holding a book and pretending to read it when truthfully I'm still thinking about Katherine and Viktor, when I hear a car door shut, then another. Standing quickly, suddenly filled with adrenaline and what I hope is enough courage to have a talk with Damon, I make my way over to the door. I have to jump out of the way when the door bursts open to avoid being hit by it slamming against the wall.  
>"Stefan?" I'm surprised to see him for some reason – even more surprised by his bruised and bloodied face. His eyes look at me for a moment in passing, but he doesn't stop walking. With tense shoulders and arms a bit bowed, I can see that he's angry. I'm about to go to him, follow him, when Damon comes in the house.<p>

"Aren't you going to invite Katherine in?" Damon calls as Stefan starts up the stairs.

"COME IN" Stefan's voice is raw, rugged. Moments later Katherine saunters into the Salvatore House.

She and I catch each other's gaze and I get the sense that she doesn't want me to discuss the 'triangle' just yet. "What happened to him?" I ask, I don't care if I sound too worried, Stefan's lip was busted and he was dry blood beneath his nose and above his eye.

Damon is smug, giving me a kiss on my cheek before heading to the basement stairs – probably going to get some blood – "Brothers fight, Elena… get over it."

I want to scream at him – STEFAN IS HUMAN! You can't fight like that anymore! – but I don't, instead I do what will probably have a much greater effect on him; I take off down the hall and up the stairs to find Stefan.  
>When I top the stairs I can hear something glass break against the wall, but I am not afraid of him. I continue down the hall and directly into his room just as he's removing his pants.<br>Stefan Salvatore is a Roman sculpture - the epitome of a man, lean and muscular, covered only by his navy blue boxer briefs. There is a streak of blood on his bare chest, and from the looks of his swollen and bloodied knuckles, he must have got some decent hits in on Damon, too. My eyes slowly move up his incredibly rippled stomach, over his formed chest, those honey-laced, talented lips, finally to his burning green eyes looking back at me. Despite his appearance, I feel myself wanting him – maybe it's because of his appearance, I don't know but there's something about this stone-still man infront of me that makes me feel carnal, almost primal. At first, his stare is full of anger, but I watch as his eyes soften for me, transitioning his stone face into a sweet, heart breaking smile that forces my legs to pick up my feet and bring my body to his. I stand on my tip-toes, arms wrapped tightly around his neck, melting into the way he holds me. We stand that way for a long time – just feeling each other breathing. "When I opened that door as saw you standing there, I swear I thought I'd died again, I thought I was dreaming you."

"I love you" I sigh into the curve of his neck, my lips grazing his skin. I wish I was taller so I could kiss his bloody lips.

Stefan's hands come to my face and he looks at me like I'm saying something that's completely unbelievable, his brow furrowed a bit and eyes wetter than usual. "I'm so sorry for everything, for every time I hurt you, Elena. I'll spend the rest of my life making myself worthy of you."

To this day I cannot figure out how he doesn't see that he's a masterpiece of a man, perfection – more than I could ever deserve. I move to kiss him, but Stefan moves back, smiling at me playfully. "I need a shower."

"I don't care, I want to taste you." I swear to God I don't know where that came from but it's such a sensual phrase that I feel myself turned on by my own words, by the thought of tasting him. The way his green eyes just slightly narrow, flaring and darkening, I know they've had the same effect on him. I've thought about it, about tasting his blood – he used to drink a bit of my blood every day and I can remember how he seemed to be in such ecstasy… it made me curious.

When his head cocks to the side a bit, I feel excitement growing in the deepest parts of my stomach. Stefan steps to me, there is less than half an inch of space between our bodies as that electrifying buzz is taunting me, but I do not dare break eye contact with him no matter how badly I want to free myself of this tension by closing the gap between us – it's a desire of self-preservation, staying in this tense stance is like cutting open my body and allowing my rawest emotions to be inspected by his leaf-green eyes – I feel so exposed. I feel light headed.

My fingers begin to shake and I fear like I may lose myself before he even touches me. "Say that again." It's a command, a request, I can't tell - I don't know if I'm physically able to force my vocal chords to work.

"I want to taste you, Stefan" My own voice is almost unrecognizable as it's laced with a sultry tone that makes my whispered words sound erotic.

I see his eyes flame again, he looks so pleased, so playful, naughty… dangerous. God I want him more than I have ever wanted anything, anyone. When he begins to lean over to me, to allow me to kiss his lips, a quiet, yearning moan escapes my mouth and he stops, give me this amused, knowing smile that sets me on fire and turns me to liquid. I swallow, my lips parting and chest heaving – Stefan looks so in control that it's kind of frightening to know that I'm on the brink of catching on fire while he's cool and collected. He comes closer and his bottom lip just barely touches my top lip. I'm surprised for a moment. My eyes are looking down at his mouth – I can't see really, it's just a blur of his olive skin and beautiful lips. When he doesn't move to kiss me, I realize what he's doing – he's giving me the chance to back out.

Ever so slowly the tip of my tongue graze his injured lip – the small amount of blood is metallic and salty from sweat, but I don't really taste it as my senses are firing and flaming and simply out of control. I can feel and hear and see and taste everything – the only thing I know for sure is that the desire I have for Stefan is building in me, creating an unforgiving pressure throughout my muscles and nerve endings. Gently, I pull his bottom lip into my mouth with a gentle sucking and the sound of his deep groan almost tips me over the edge, but I don't stop. I suck harder, flick my tongue against the skin of his lip. Stefan is the one to pull away, and I'm so scared that I just freaked him out and turned him off, but when I open my eyes I am reassured. His eyes are still closed, his teeth biting the lip I'd been sucking – _I was too much for him_. I'm a goddess – a sensual deity that brings Stefan Salvatore to pause. Now empowered, I won't let him lose this high, I take his face in my hands, pulling him into my kiss. He breathes me in, our tongues and lips gliding together, the friction of our kisses is sultry and blazing, but so _so_ slow. There is something to be said about a man who knows how to prolong his own pleasure – how to enjoy each and every sensation. Stefan's hands find my hips and he pushes one, pulls the other, stepping, turning us, and the next thing I know his body is on top of mine on his unmade bed. The removing of my shirt and shorts is so seamless that I hardly notice it happened. He's kissing my lips, sucking at my neck, licking my nipples – his rough hands are truly all over me, caressing and exploring and making my body arch and moan and flex against my will. I've heard it said that there's a unique excitement that goes a long with a new love, a new lover – I know that those people have never experienced the raw passion that Stefan and I have, they've not been lucky enough to find their fated love.  
>"Stefan, please." There I go again, begging him… but how can I not? No one can do what he does to me and it's something that I will never get enough of. He ignores me, continues kissing and licking and nibbling and sucking. I can't take anymore; I'm going to die if I don't have him inside of me. I ask again, please please… he doesn't respond so I take his face in my hands and look him in the eyes, making him focus. "Stefan, please." I'm breathless and think I couldn't possibly want him anymore until I see his grassy green eyes looking back at me full of love and desire – the frequency between us suddenly increases to a nearly unbearable level.<br>Stefan moves between my legs, his weight heavy against me, and he kisses me softly on the lips, "You own me, Elena." he whispers, looks me in the eyes once again. I feel him enter me and groan his name over and over again in helpless, uncontrolled breaths.


	7. Chapter 7

DAMON's POV

If Elena thinks she's pissed off at me now, I can't wait to see how she reacts when she finds out I killed Stefan's witch. Stefan doesn't know that I slept her, so at least I won't have to deal with that transgression too. I'm sure she's up stairs with him now and he's filling her in on how I'm such a shitty guy and how I'm not sorry at all – I'm not, who gives a damn about that witch! Hell, even Saint Stefan was playing her whether he admits it or not! Really, I did everyone a favor by taking her out – now, Elijah and his clan of original siblings are back to square one. They obviously have no idea where the little witch is, so Team Salvatore is ahead of the game by at least a few hours – maybe more. Stefan bought two tickets for Italy on our way back to Mystic Falls and once he's finished cleaning up those wounds, we'll be on our way to get her. I plan on killing the little thing. I'm sure Stefan will be pleased to hear that – but again, I don't really care how he feels. At some point, everyone is going to realize that it's me that always gets the work done. Collateral damage or not, want something done right, come to Damon Salvatore.

Okay, so some things I've done have set other things in motion – the tomb vampires, turning Vicki, turning Isobel, screwing with Katherine and getting Jena stabbed, screwing with Mason and getting Rose killed, and of course, my epic fuck up, getting bit by Tyler while trying to delay Klaus' ritual in turn getting Jenna killed and Stefan enslaved to Klaus… but whatever.

I'm already irritated with Stefan for having Katherine pick up Elena from my apartment in the first place, but now that I see that there is not a single bag of blood in my deep freezer, I'm about ready to kick his ass for the second time today. When I slam the door shut, Katherine gives a sweet little laugh from behind me.

"Looks like you and I are out of luck, huh?" She smiles, leaning against the door frame – sexy and confident. I'm tempted to have my way with her right here in this basement, but decide against it as I'm already in a pretty deep hole with Elena. Stefan can sleep with Caroline, Katherine, the witch… but he's soooooo selfless and wonderful. "I thought I'd go down by the lake, see if I could find a fisherman or two. Want to come?"

I should still be full from draining Lindsey, but after the pretty decent fight with Stefan, I'm hungry already from taking a few of his blows. I won't admit it to anyone, ever, but human Stefan broke my nose and cracked my jaw – luckily I'm NOT human and healed before anyone could see. When he had to show that bloody face to Elena I swear I nearly doubled over laughing! Pitiful human. I nod, agreeing to go with Katherine and start out of the basement when she takes me by the arm.

"What?" I ask, glaring down at her hand grasping me.

Katherine may look just like Elena but the huge different between the two of them is that Katherine always knows exactly what she wants and is never afraid to take it. I'm surprised, but not, when she smiles at me in her playful way. "I see you and Stefan had a bit of a fight. When are you going to realize that Elena isn't worth all of this?"

Here she goes again with that bullshit – how I've supposedly misplaced my undying love for her to Elena because she hurt my feelings by turning me down when she returned to Mystic Falls. Sure, it sounds good – but I'm not that deep. "And you are?" I snap. "You and I are though – you made sure of that a long time ago." Even if I did sleep with her that night Elena and Stefan came back from Miami, it was just a one-time thing and it's over. We have excellent chemistry and, wow, she's amazing in bed – but I want Elena.

"Tell me, Damon – just answer me this one thing and I'll drop it." Katherine struts up the stairs a few steps in front of me; I watch her hips sway and a smile forms on my mouth despite my aggravation with her. "Why do you want Elena?"

"Get out of my way." I push past her – I'm just not interested in going through this with her.

"Oh come on Damon, fill me in." She laughs a bit and I turn to look at her, my hand on the door knob. Katherine moves to the step just below mine and I enjoy looking down at her like this, seeing her mischievous eyes gazing at me through her lashes. "You and I are perfectly fit for one another – equals. Why are you in love with Elena?"

Maybe it's because of Katherine's finger tips touching my stomach, just below my navel, or how I can smell her perfume and feel the warmth of her body, but my brain is having trouble coming up with a response. "I love Elena because…" Come on, Damon, think dammit. Say something! I slap her hand away just as she grazes above my belt buckle, hoping that ridding myself of her touch will clear my head enough to answer her question. "I love Elena because…" my voice trails off as I watch her slowly lick her lips as she moves towards me, kisses my neck, runs her hands all the way up my torso so slowly that's a strange form of torture. "…because she's not you." I sigh, my eyes closing as I enjoy her touch.

I feel her smile form against my jaw, "You love me, Damon. When you man up enough to admit that, let me know." She bites my skin just enough that it's a pleasurable pain, then steps around me, opening the door and leaving me on the stairs burning for more of her and frustrated that I couldn't think of something else to say.

ELENA's POV

When I wake, a smile spreads across my face before my eyes can adjust to Stefan's sunlit bedroom. I can smell his body wash in the air, but the bathroom door is open and the light is off, so I know he must have showered and left me to rest. I couldn't have slept more than forty-five minutes or so and I'm still pretty exhausted, but I haven't felt this happy, this complete, since our romance in Naples. My stomach growls at me – though my entire body is completely and fully satisfied, it is my empty stomach that gives me reason to get out of this warm bed, leaving the memories of the way Stefan and I made love for another time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a piece of paper folded in half and facing me on the bedside table, my name quickly written across the front of it. I melt inside a bit as I pick up, unfold it:

"Our love is composed of a single spirit inhabiting two bodies - For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul." Thank you for letting me love you - S

– my terribly naughty Stefan is also the most romantic man I've ever known.

When I enter the kitchen, I'm surprised that no one seems to be home, but proceed to look through the cabinets for something to eat – I have a sudden craving for peanut butter crackers - The thought makes me smile and feel warm inside.

"How can you be so beautiful?" Stefan's voice sweeps across me. He's leaning against the door frame – THE door frame – arms loosely crossed over his chest and wearing my favorite white Henley and dark jeans. I can't respond – he's made me blush with his words. It's not like I've never been told I'm pretty, but when Stefan says it I know he means it with his soul.

When he sits at the kitchen isle, I scoop some peanut butter onto a cracker for him and he pops it in his mouth with a smile – I know he's thinking of the last time we shared this same meal, right here on this countertop. It doesn't last long, our playful moment, before he changes – it's time to discuss business… I can see it in his eyes.

"I used your phone, called Bonnie." He sits my Iphone down. "Mine uh, broke, hope you don't mind." I shrug, of course I don't mind but I'm confused why he contacted Bonnie. Also, I feel kind of terrible that I haven't been a great friend to her in the last few months. She's been busy with Jeremy and I've been working through the Stefan/Elena/Damon triangle and we've both been swamped with school work. "Lindsey was killed."

Oh my God – I want to ask how, why, where, who, but all I can think of is how she told me she loved my Stefan and I stormed off. "Why would Elijah kill her?" I sigh – feeling terrible that I hadn't even wondered where she was when Stefan and Damon came into the house.

Stefan hangs his head for a minute, clears his throat, stalling as if he doesn't want to tell me. "No… Damon." When he looks up at me I see that he's hurting for her and at the same time, he's concerned about my feelings. I'm not surprised really – Damon does this, lashes out and hurts people in the way he knows he can, killing and destroying. I love Damon, I do, but this is just one of so many reasons why I could never be with him like I am with Stefan. "Elijah needs a witch to help with Klaus. I don't know what they are going to do, but I've got to go to Gia." Stefan's eyes are inspecting the peel of an orange sitting in the wooden bowl between us. "Lindsey was all that she had, and she's just a little girl. I have to find her – warn her and let her know about Lindsey…" He shakes his head as if to rid himself of some terrible thought. "I asked Bonnie to help by doing a locator spell. Lindsey said she left her with a family friend, but I have no idea who or how to contact them."

I begin to move to Stefan, hold him – I can see that he's hurting for her loss. He may not love her, but I know that he cared for Lindsey and Gia because of how they changed him, helped him find his humanity again. I'm sure he feels responsible for this latest wave of evil and I want to wrap him in my arms, tell him it's not his fault and that we'll get through this – we always do – but the opening of the front door stops me; it's Katherine and Damon.

Katherine comes to stand next to Stefan, resting against the kitchen island – after the talk that Katherine and I had this morning, I'm suddenly no longer threatened by the way she lingers close to Stefan's body. They share a look at one another, then Stefan's eyes move to me. I realize that out of the four of us, Damon is the only one who does not know that I have made a decision. I am with Stefan just as it always should have been. Damon opens the fridge behind me and gives a loud groan – "No blood I understand, but no alcohol, Stefan?"

When he closes the door and turns to us – Stefan, Katherine, and I sharing looks of concern – Damon notices something is up. "Something I need to be clued in on?"

Now, everyone's eyes are on me and I push a heavy dollop of peanut butter into my mouth in hopes of buying myself time. I try to not look at anyone while I gather my thoughts, chewing the peanut butter slowly… I can feel the tension in Stefan's body even though he's a few feet away from me. From my peripheral vision I see Katherine come around to my side of the island and I wonder if she's getting in position to protect me from Damon. I can sense Damon's electric blue eyes burrowing into the side of my face.

"We need to talk…" I finally say, looking at Damon, then to Katherine and Stefan. "All of us."

"Why do I feel like you three have already talked?" Damon asks, raising his eyebrows. "He looks down at my left hand where his engagement ring has been for months but is now missing.

Before I left his apartment for Stefan's hotel room last night, I took off the ring and left it on his bathroom countertop. He knows by my bare ring finger exactly what I am about to say and he takes off – Stefan grabs him by the arm, standing to face him. Damon shakes him off quickly, but they stand like that – shoulder to shoulder, eye to eye – for an excruciatingly long moment.

"Damon," I start, I still don't know what I can say to make this easier, but he cuts me off.

"Just don't, Elena. What do you want me to do? Smile and act like I'm happy for my little brother?" He glares at Stefan. "Yea, great job man, you win again!"

"Don't be like that," Stefan's voice is soft, but I can hear a darkness in its tone. "It was never a competition."

"Like hell it wasn't!" Damon turns to look at me.

I guess it's my turn to talk. "Damon, I love you, you know that and I'm sorry that this happened at all, but I know you understand how I feel about Stefan. I know you do because you feel the same way for Katherine."Damon looks at me like have three heads. "What the hell are you talking about? You have no idea how I feel at all or you wouldn't be running back to him! And you," He cuts his eyes to Katherine, "Yea, I loved you and I waited over a century for you, but you've got to be an idiot to think you can come in here and expect me to give a damn about you after all you've done."

Katherine doesn't seem hurt by his words at all – they must have already had a conversation similar this one.

"You don't love someone for that long, then just fall in love with their twin the moment you get hurt!" I say like it's common sense, but really, what about this situation is common? I'm a doppelganger tied to what seems like an endless amount of spells and curses, Katherine – a former doppelganger – is the vampire that changed the Salvatore brothers, one who happens to be human again.

Damon steps toward me, but Stefan puts his hand on Damon's chest as a warning, protecting me. Damon looks down at Stefan's hand, then to me very slowly, "You've lost the right to tell me what to do or how I should feel, Elena. When Stefan leaves because it's too hard or he's just too weak, you're going to want to come to me, but just like Katherine, you mean nothing to me anymore."

What can I say to that? "Damon..."

"How did you think this was going to go down?" Damon gives a sharp laugh, removing Stefan's hand from his chest. "The four of us would go on dates, vacation together? You thought you'd tell me you want to be with my brother and I would skip over to Katherine?"

Really, I have no idea how I thought this would end… just like this I guess. With Damon fuming, Stefan staying quiet, accepting the verbal cuts from his sibling - While Katherine and I watch the destruction of the Salvatore brothers, all the anger and resentment between them attributed to the two of us.

We stand there, all of us frozen, until the ringing of the doorbell slices through the tension. Damon storms out of the kitchen, Stefan following to get the door.

It hurts me, what Damon has said, because I don't want to lose him – I love him, but I want him in my life as a friend, a confidant… nothing more. I've lost so many friends, so many people that I cared; losing Damon this way is just as hard, cuts me just as deeply, but I know it's for the best. I'm silently grieving the loss of our friendship when I hear Bonnie talking with Stefan as they enter the kitchen.

It's been awhile since we've seen each other, but it doesn't matter; no amount of time or space will ever change the fact that Bonnie is my very best friend in the world – I almost run to her I'm so happy to see her!

"Bonnie, I've missed you so much" I hold her in my arms, squeezing her and just being thankful that she is my friend.

She's hugging me back, but something feels weird. I pull away from her a bit, my hands on her petite shoulders. Bonnie is looking at me, but her eyes aren't really focusing – it's like she is in some kind of a daze. "Bonnie?"

Her daydream like state lasts a few seconds more, then she smiles at me, "Elena, you're pregnant."

I don't have time to be thrilled or scared or filled with joy. I don't have time to look at Stefan's grassy green eyes, the father of the child I'm carrying inside of me, I don't have time to think at all before I see Damon's arm coming around Stefan's head from behind.

There's no way Bonnie could've known that I'd been secretly seeing Stefan; that I'd been going behind Damon's back. Last she knew, I was with Stefan in Miami – how could she have known that telling me that she could feel that I was pregnant was alerting Damon to my transgressions with his brother, my human Stefan.

I've seen Damon do this exact move, the instant death of a broken neck, so many times that I already know what's coming. It's all achingly slow – the sudden inhale of breath through Stefan's parted lips, his eyes squeezing shut from the expected pain, Damon's cold and empty eyes… looking right at me, this death – killing Stefan - this is for me, it's because of me.

My eyes cannot watch – My heart has already had to experience the destruction of seeing my soul mates body falling to the floor lifelessly once and it can't survive it a second time. I squeeze my eyes shut, hold my breath – all I can do is wait for than unmistakable snap.

KATHERINE's POV

I collide with Damon's body with such force that the three of us, Stefan included, tumble into the foyer just a millisecond before Stefan's neck would have twisted too far. We barely hit the wall, stopping us, before Damon is on his feet again and on his way to Stefan.

He's on a rampage - his intent to kill Stefan burning in his eyes. I've got to attribute it to the incredible amount of rage that he's feeling, because though I'm much older and stronger than Damon, he shoves me away when I try to stop him. The sound of his boot making contact with Stefan's ribs, then his face, it's heinous – a wet, crackling thud. A third kick rolls Stefan towards Elena, and I'm sure Damon doesn't mean to – he's so angry that he's blind to everything but inflicting pain on his brothers body – but his next move, clutching the collar of Stefan's shirt and bringing his face up to meet the fist of his right hand grazes the back of my doppelgangers head just as she throws herself over Stefan and she's immediately unconscious from the blow.

Damon is moving very quickly and is about to punch again, not registering Elena has put herself in line to take another of his fists in the back of her head. Stefan is just alert enough to hug her limp body to his and turns their bodies out of the way just as Damon's fist misses and makes contact with the wooden floor with a thunderous crack. I think that he's going to stop now. His hand is obviously broken, and there is no way that he is still unaware of Elena's condition, but he doesn't. Damon doesn't even slow down, grabbing Stefan's arm from holding Elena, trying to pull him closer to start the beating again.

It's a sudden and breathtaking sensation – that staggering feeling of blades piercing your brain at an unperceivable rate. If I'd been prepared, ready for Bonnie's attack, I could have fended it off and wouldn't be doubling over on myself, clawing at my skull. I think I hear Damon yell in agony; feel him hit the floor next to me. She keeps it going longer than necessary – that little witch despises vampires and it doesn't bother her in slightest to see us tortured by the mini-explosions in our brains.

When it finally does come to a slow stop, Stefan is on his knees, holding Elena's head in his lap – Damon is next to me and though he's considerably less angry, I still feel the need to take him by the wrist as to keep him from starting again. When his shoulders slump I know that it has finally hit him, that he has hurt Elena… badly, from the looks of it. In true Damon form, he doesn't stick around for the aftermath of his rage and within a few seconds he's out the front door.

"Elena!" Bonnie cries, kneeling on the other side of Elena's wilted body. Stefan's gentle hands are holding her face, his face is bloodied from the beating he just took from his brother. It's like I'm on the outside looking in… knowing that if it were me laying there, injured to the point of unconsciousness, I'd be alone and it digs into me like a blade. I'd have no best friend holding my hand, no one would have saved me. There would be no great love of my life brushing my hair back from my face, whispering my name to try and wake me… it hits me, Elena is the only family I have.

Ignoring the lonely ache of my realization, I bite my wrist - bringing just enough blood through my skin - then go to my doppelganger – healing Elena, saving the child growing in her, my only family…

CAROLINE's POV

"Ok, it's me again… where are you? Call me!" I try to sound nonchalant, cool about the fact that I can't get a hold of Elena, or Stefan, and The Original siblings are all in a tizzy over Lindsey being dead. I've left them several messages and it's so unlike them to not call or text or something! When I left Elijah, he was filling in Rebekah and Kol, planning out their next move – how to "accumulate the witch."

The way Elijah talks about that little girl, as if she's some kind of an object for his use, it makes me feel ill. I don't think he'll kill her, but her sister is already dead and I have no idea how Klaus is going to react once we can actually bring him back. My heart hurts for her…

I can't stop fidgeting – terrified that my feeble attempts of coming between Stefan and Elena for the sole purpose of keeping Stefan's return a secret from Elijah may have failed and they've been found out. There is not a doubt in my mind that Elijah will do as he has promised me -, keep Elena, Bonnie, Matt, Jeremy, and Tyler safe – he can kill Damon any time he wants to for all I care! Stefan on the other hand… even if I'd known that he was alive when I made this deal with The Originals, to help them find the witches that put Klaus into his comatose state, I couldn't have bargained for Stefan… they blame Stefan. I know it looks like I'm a traitor, but the truth, endgame - is this will be best for everyone, so long as we can all get out of this alive.

Elijah swears that between Klaus' siblings and myself, we'll be able to talk him out of building his hybrid army, therefore freeing Elena. With Elena liberated – that will allow the rest of my friends to finally escape this world of incomprehensible danger we've been living in! Elena can be with Stefan… or Damon, or anyone else, I guess – hopefully Stefan though! There will come a point where my friends will all grow old and die, and I'll still be seventeen and a vampire, so I have decided to put some distance between us all now and be with Klaus. I will have my epic love. He promised to show me the world, introduce me to its beauty and magic; I want that. I want Klaus' love, his adoration… I'll be losing all of my friends I know, but it's inevitable.

My phone dings, breaking up my morbid thoughts… it's not Elena or Stefan.

Elijah: We are leaving for Italy at 8pm. Please be ready to leave by 7.

So polite and cold… by 'be ready', he means I'd better have the information about the little girl and be at the airport… I try Elena again to no answer. With only six hours to get the location of the little sister, I'm just about to explode with anxiety when I hear the door open – a loud sigh of relief escapes me as I stand from my sitting position next to my bed.

I open my bedroom door, pumped and ready to berate Elena for not answering her phone all night, for making me worry, but the sight of Damon Salvatore standing eerily calm and emotionless knocks me off kilter.

"Damon" His name comes from my lips almost like a whimper. The moment I look into his ice-blue eyes I am sure that he knows about my deal with The Originals.

"Blondie." He raises he eyebrows at me. "You have got some explaining to do…"

It may not exactly be a threat, but I've known Damon long enough to know that the tone of his words carries a warning. My initial thought it is to run – but to where? He's stronger and faster than I am, and the red stains on his tee-shirt tells me he's recently filled up on someone's blood while I haven't ate in more than a day… running would be futile. I decide to try and explain. "Are Stefan and Elena okay?"

The quick narrowing of his eyes tells me something is wrong, despite his nod. "It's not what you think, Damon. Elijah promised that he won't hurt anyone, they just want Klaus back."

He steps towards me, eyes fixated – I step back. "I'm helping them find the witch so they can wake him, that's all. They don't know about Stefan. I was never going to tell-" I can't finish my sentence, I can't breathe – Damon's fingers are digging into my windpipe, lifting me from the ground and up the wall so that my toes are grazing at the carpet.

"I should have killed you a long time ago." He growls at me, my hands grasping at this arm. "Here's to second chances!" When he pulls his free hand back, I know he's going to rip my heart from my chest and all I can think of is my mom and how she's going to be completely alone without me.

Damon's body jerks a bit; he releases me, turning in his place as I fall to the floor at his feet – gasping for air to replenish my body. When I look up, Damon is wobbling– a vervain needle stuck in the back of his neck and Matt Donovan's hand reaching for me.

STEFAN's POV

I've been googling everything I can think of about being pregnant, and how early you can tell your pregnant… really every sentence that you can think of that has the topic of pregnancy in it I've googled. I've learned a lot and comprehended pretty much nothing… I've never felt so, so… terrified and elated at the same time in my entire life. Bonnie is sitting next to Elena on my bed, while I sit and stand and pace and crouch… I can't find a comfortable place. My hands don't really know where they should be. I just wish Elena would wake up…

She'll be fine, I know, thanks to Katherine's blood, but I need to see her eyes open before I can relax a little. Elena is lying on her back and every time I look at her, my eyes keep moving to her stomach, my hands want to touch it. I know I'm in shock, denial maybe… it's a good thing, a GREAT THING, it's just so unbelievable. I feel like an idiot – human guys make human babies with human girls. I'd been a vampire for so long that I completely forgot about the need of protection; my guess is Elena didn't think about it either… we've made love a hundred times without ever needing to consider contraceptives.

I want to believe that Damon hurt Elena on purpose, it would give me reason to kill him – stake him and watch him rot right in front of me. Deep down I know it was an accident and the only reason I'm pissed off at him is because he attacked me. My anger will pass… he has far more reason to be angry with me that I have for him.

I've packed for my flight and need to leave soon, but if Elena doesn't wake up then I just can't go. I need to see her awake and alert before I can leave her, we need to talk about… our baby. WOW, that's such a strange term to use. It leaves my arms and legs feeling kind of numb and my heart swollen with a love I can't remember ever feeling before. I need to sit down. What if I'm a terrible father, I have a temper… what if Elena isn't happy about this? Babies are so tiny. Elena is going to be so beautiful with a little round tummy.

I shake my head – bounce in place like a boxer; my erratic thoughts running rampant are causing me to feel a little light headed.

"Caroline wants you to call her." Bonnie says to me as she looks as her phone. "Says she's tried calling you a bunch…"

I can't deal with Caroline right now. This time yesterday I would have called her one of my closest friends, but I recognized her voice with Elijah last night… now I'm not sure how to feel about her. Still, she doesn't know that I'm aware that she's working with The Original's, maybe I should call her and see if I can get any information out of her.

With my phone in pieces in Charlottesville and Elena's phone still in the kitchen, I don't want to leave Elena, I ask Bonnie if I could use hers and step out of my room only a few feet to make the call.

"Hey Bon." Caroline's voice rings like a bell – she's so much like Lexi…

"It's Stefan. Bonnie said you needed to speak with me?" That came out colder than I wanted it to, but I'm having trouble putting on an act with my senses coming and going with anxiety. "What's up?" I add a tad more friendly.

"Well, first of all Damon is knocked out on the floor of my dorm room! Second… whatever you think you know about me and Elijah, it's wrong."

Okay, so no need to act – she's obviously aware that I know she is working with them… Thanks, Damon. "Is he okay? What happened?"

I'm not surprised that Damon took off to kill Caroline – when he left me and Elena he was in a full blown Damon-explosion. What does catch me a little off guard is that Matt was the one to save her… don't get me wrong, Matt is a great guy, but he's a little soft around the edges to have to live a life with vampires and werewolves. I'm proud of him for being able to step up like that.

"He's going to be really mad when he wakes up and finds that Matt took his ring. Will you let him know that it's in the toilet reservoir? But wait until dark so we can get some distance between us…"

"Going somewhere?" God, please don't say Italy.

Caroline pauses for a moment. "Stefan, I have to help them… when I started this I had no idea you were alive. I can't back out now. I've made a deal with them – they'll kill me, they'll kill us all."

I feel like snapping at her, but hold my tongue – remembering my promise to myself to do better at controlling my anger. I breathe out slowly, like I used to when I'd feel the blood rushing in and my fangs beginning to protrude. "and what do you think Klaus will do if they are successful and actually wake him? You think he's going to be happy to see you and just let things slide?"

"Elijah promised me that he'll make Klaus leave Elena alone! And as far as the rest of you, as of now they don't know you're alive, but everyone else will be safe – Elijah swears that they'll all leave town once Klaus is revived."

I huff, "And you believe him?"

"What choice do I have, Stefan? I'm going to live forever while everyone I care about gets old and dies… Klaus loves me, he'll be with me when you guys can't be."

That fear of losing everyone, I know that feeling very, very well, and I'm immediately not as upset with her as I was just seconds earlier. "And you're sure that they'll leave Mystic Falls? No more donations from Elena…?"

If she's really made this deal, and if they really stick to it and can convince Klaus to hold true to it as well, then this may just be the best thing for us all.

Caroline and I speak for a bit longer. I've agreed to help her with Gia. They won't kill her, honestly I don't know if they can – she's extremely powerful. My one request is that she let me get to Italy first in order to warn Gia and to tell her about Lindsey – make sure she has somewhere to go, and if not, figure that all out before The Original's approach her. We decide to speak again in 48 hours – at that point I'll either give her the information she needs, or… I guess I need to figure out a plan B.

"Stefan…?" Elena's voice is a mythical siren captivating me and calling me to her; I don't even tell Caroline bye. The wash of relief that flows through me when I enter my room and see her sitting up in my bed, it's such a sweet release of the tension in my body. I smile a large grin that it makes my face feel rigid – pulls on the cuts and gashes from Damon's attack.

I haven't really looked at my injuries – just quickly washed my face of the blood – too worried about Elena to deal with them, but her hands cover her gasping mouth and she tears up the instant her eyes see me. I must look terrible. Katherine had offered her blood to help me heal as well, but honestly, it's been so long since I've had a true wound, I kind of enjoy their sting.

"I'm fine. I'm fine, really…" I sigh through my smile. Moving to Elena, my hands elated to touch her and eyes delighted by the sight her. "How are you, do you feel okay?" I take her face in my hands as she nods, checking her eyes for any difference at all… thankfully; they are unchanged, hauntingly beautiful and dark.

I feel that pull bringing my body to hers, my mouth needing her kiss, when I catch Bonnie in my peripheral vision – reminding me we aren't alone and holding me back. Stopping just short of kissing Elena, I rest my forehead against hers. Bonnie must be able to tell that I'm wishing we were alone and starts to get up. "Thank you, Bonnie." How many times has she saved us all from being killed? Out of our entire group of misfit heroes, she is the true champion.

For a moment, I'm worried she's going to give me her default answer – I didn't do it for you – quickly putting in my place as a subpar piece of her life; instead, her hand rests gently on my arm and Bonnie smiles at me. For the first time since our true identities were revealed – me a vampire, she a witch – I feel like Bonnie is more than just an ally. If I could take my hands from Elena I would hug Bonnie, my friend.

I've just shut the trunk of my car when I hear Damon's camero, loud exhaust and louder music, roaring into the drive. Maybe I should be worried, I mean I'm out here alone while Bonnie works on the locator spell, Katherine watches her work her magic, and Elena showers, but I'm not scared of Damon. There is no doubt in my mind that he would have beaten me to near death, but no further. He caught me off guard earlier, when Bonnie told Elena she was pregnant, and it won't happen again. During our fight last night I proved to him that I can protect myself, human or not, and most likely the vervain and the commute back has calmed him down.

Crossing my arms and leaning against the bumper, I wait for him confidently. His car is moving slowly, yet far too quickly to come to an easy stop and the quick braking throws a bit of gravel my way. The sound of the rocks and dirt hitting my Lexus' immaculate paint job makes my skin crawl.

"Dearest Brother!" Damon slams the door of his car shut, a wide fake smile on his otherwise cold face. I just nod to him. "I've been gone for a couple hours, have you been able to betray me a bit more? Figure out any other ways of stabbing me in the back? Thought up an ingenious way of deceiving me?" His voice is full of sarcasm and he's doing that eyebrow thing he does when he's pissed off, but he's not livid any more.

"I see you got my text." He's wearing his ring, otherwise he wouldn't be able to stand in the mid day sun with me, glaring at me in the still summer air.

Instinctively, Damon's touches his lapis lazuli ring. I don't need mine anymore, but it's become such a part of my body, like another extremity, that I still wear it, I feel somehow uncovered without it.

"Is this where I am supposed to thank you?"

I know that I deserve this, I deserved the thrashing – hell, I probably deserve a few more kicks to the face for being with Elena behind Damon's back – but the fact of the matter will not change no matter how many times we fight or how many times I bleed in apology to my brother – Elena was never supposed to have been with Damon. I won't apologize for loving her the way I do. I will not, not for a single second, act like I am sorry that she loves me.

Trying to keep myself from getting angry right back at him, I speak somewhat monotone, "She's fine, by the way. Katherine gave her some blood." Damon's eyes narrow at me just before he quickly looks at the ground, as sign that he's not only mad at me, but himself, as well. "We're leaving for the airport in about twenty minutes if you want to speak with her."

Damon huffs, "I'm not going anywhere with you!"

As much as I don't mean for it to be discourteous, it sounds that way when I say, "By we, I meant me and Elena." I watch as his bravado weakens a bit. Damon slumps. I feel a thick, cover of guilt close in on me. "I didn't mean-"

"What did you mean, Stefan?" Damon raises his hands, frustrated. "All those times you and I have hung out, bonded. What was that? Just a big act in order to keep me from suspecting anything – to keep me from even thinking that you were malice enough to sleep with my girlfriend?"

"Of course not, Damon. I tried to stay away from her, I did." I'm not lying to him. I spent weeks in agony as I tried to free myself from whatever it is that keeps bringing me back to her. I wanted to do right by him, my brother. So badly, I wanted us to be brothers, not just siblings… in the end, I just wasn't strong enough to fight it.

Damon shoves me, "Yea, I bet you did. Just like I'm sure she really put up a fight." My fingers are digging into my elbows, holding my arms crossed against my chest as every muscle in my body wants to unleash on him – he can be as crude as he wants about me, but I'm not going to listen to him talk about Elena in such a way. "I have to say, brother, you had me fooled…" Damon is really getting into this, wiggling his finger at me in a very dramatic fashion. "I thought you'd changed, but whether you're feeding on blood or not, you're the same piece of shit you were in 1864 when you took Katherine from me."

I hear the front door open, I know Damon did too, but we're in a staring contest now and neither of us look away.

"Um, it's done." Bonnie calls. She's finished with the locator spell and Elena should be about ready to leave, but I want so badly to knock Damon on his ass.

"You can't really think that I stole her from you, Damon. And what does it even matter now?" I ask through gritted teeth, still trying to keep my promise of controlling my anger. Neither of us had her, she was playing the both of us, but all Damon can seem to recall is that I somehow stole Katherine out from under him. She was not one to be taken by either of us!

The rolling of Damon's eyes infuriates me, "Oh no, I don't think you did, I know you did."

"Is that what this is about? You're still pissed off about me and Katherine? You need some kind of revenge so now you want Elena?" My jaw is clinched so tight that my ears pop.

Damon smiles at me, smug and seething with resentment. "I didn't just want Elena…" his finger pokes me in the chest and I swear to God I may break off his entire arm if he finishes this sentence the way I think he's going to. I can feel that thick, blazing hot tar-like rage coming over me, just waiting to see if he has the nerve. "I had her, Stefan… many, many times."

It explodes out of me, through my chest, rippling down my arms, shoving Damon about eight feet away. Just as I reach him, fists tightly bound and ready to go at him for a third time today, Katherine calls to us.

"Boys. That's enough." We both look her way immediately – for some reason I feel like I've been sucked back in time and Damon and I are right back to first time we fought over a girl. Katherine's melodic voice somehow soothes me just enough that I feel my fists loosen. She's standing next to Bonnie, curls bouncing ever so slightly in the gentle breeze. "Are we really going to do this, again?"

I lick my lips, bite them in anger, frustrated that I can't just ignore her. When I look at Damon, I'm surprised to see that he's still sitting on the ground, looking up at Katherine as she's walking towards us. "Stefan, if you don't keep your face away from you're brothers fists, I fear we won't be able to recognize you soon." I turn my face away when Katherine's fingers touch my jaw – this is very strange, it feels too much like it did when Damon and I were both naive, both human.

She gives me what I think is an irritated smile, still not used to the fact that she has no power over me. Katherine is incredibly sexy, provoking even, but the truth is, had she not compelled me to accept that she was a vampire – she and I would have ended right then and there, in my bed in 1864. Remembering the pain of her bite to my artery, how I woke up terrified of her only to be forced to allow it, my voice is thick with bitterness, "Stay out of this, Katherine."

Damon is back to his feet now, "Actually, I think it's time we talk about this." His finger making a circle at the three of us – he and Katherine are looking at one another, my eyes are on the grass. "Stefan and I can't seem to recall how things came to be back in 1864, so please, Katherine, enlighten us."

"Will you never let this go, Damon?" Katherine asks, I think she wants us to believe that she's grown tired of this topic, but I can see it in the coolness of her eyes, her secret smile, she's relishing in how we are still fighting over her.

This is utterly ridiculous – I don't care! I don't care what happened in 1864! How many times do I have to apologize to Damon? How many lifetimes will it take to make it up to him? In frustration, I run my hands through my hair, walk away, and then back again.

"Why did you turn us? You didn't even stick around to be with us, either of us, so why do it at all?" Damon's voice is somehow vulnerable and I hate it for him. I hate that she can bend him like this.

Katherine's hands find her hips and she puts all of her weight on one leg, pursing her lips at Damon. "How was I to know father Salvatore would kill you. Feeding you my blood was a precautionary measure…" How Katherine manages to look like a Victoria's Secret runway model while standing in a mix of gravel and needs-to-be-cut grass I have no idea. I'm sure that Damon is panting over her. Katherine is breathtakingly beautiful, but she's overly sure of herself and makes me want to gag at her conceit. "I couldn't stick around because I was on the run. Pretty sure I've already covered this, Damon."

_We've covered all of this ten times over! _ I want to scream at them, instead I bend at the waist, resting my hands on my knees – waiting for Damon to get to his real question and come at me again when she delivers her answer.

"And you never compelled me?"

I hear the smile in her voice when she replies, "I never compelled you, Damon. You were a very willing participant. Stefan on the other hand…"

When I look up at Katherine I know I must be glaring, but it doesn't affect her, she continues to beam at Damon and I. Elena steps out onto the porch, her carry-on messenger bag across her chest, looking at us inquisitively. Bonnie whispers that Katherine broke up our fight and now we're discussing our love triangle. I consider interjecting, explaining to Bonnie that I am not a part of this triangle, nor had I ever wanted to be, but Damon speaks again before I can.

"And who had you first?"

"Ugh, Jesus Christ, Damon! Would you just give it a rest?" I nearly scream at him, my arms ridged and hands in tight fists.

Katherine gives a sweet, sensual little laugh, "Who had _me_? I think it was the other way around…"

I'm surprised when I feel Elena's arm loop through mine – it's a sign of unity, support. I'm instantly less angry, less troubled by my memories of Katherine, Katherine and Damon, Damon and me… my father. I'm in awe of her, of our connection – Elena knows what rehashing all this is doing to me. I can take a punch as well as I can throw one, but it's the memories and regrets that wound me.

"Who was first, Katherine? Me or Stefan?"  
>Why is he pleading with her like this? He knows the answer, she's told us. It was me, she and I were together, but when Damon took leave from the army things started between the two of them… Why does he insist on slicing his own wound open over and over again?<p>

"Stefan." Katherine states my name like it's an answer to a riddle, sort of like she can't be quite sure. My eyes cut to Damon and I see him tense so I step in front of Elena, lacing my fingers with hers. If he wants to hit me again, okay, I'm game, but there won't be another 'accident' involving Elena and our child. Damon's head turns slowly towards me, but I see more defeat on his face than anger.

I want to apologize, but what can I say that I haven't said already?

"My plan was to marry the heir-apparent, Stefan Salvatore." Katherine's voice brings all of our eyes to her, "Then I was going to kill Stefan and your father. The Salvatore assets, the land and the logging company, would be mine and, eventually, Mystic Falls would be a safe-haven for vampires. Don't get me wrong, Stefan, you were… mmm excellent, but just a bit too sweet for my taste." Honestly, I have no idea if she's referring to our sexual relationship or the actual taste of my blood. I can remember her enjoying both immensely. My stomach hurts a bit as I recall enjoying her, as well.

"Enter big brother, Damon Salvatore – fresh from the army and, _rough_." The way she says that, rough, makes Damon smile salaciously and I feel like I'm somehow eavesdropping on some kind of strange foreplay. "You really messed up my plans, Damon. Scared me, even – they way you made love to me, let me drink from you, completely accepted me." Katherine's voice has softened from the seductress tone and I can hear real emotion as she looks directly into Damon's eyes, taking a step towards him. "If things would've been different, easier for me – If I wouldn't have been running from Klaus – it would have been you and me, Damon. I would have never have used your brother as a distraction, I would have never of left you."

Damon swallows. He seems to be inspecting Katherine's face. I can't look at them for some reason. I just want to take Elena and walk away from them, give them privacy. I've had this exact conversation with Elena and I know how it can feel like you're being gutted and cleaned of every emotion you've tried to hide. Fearing that making any move at all may disrupt whatever this is that's going on between my brother and Katherine, I stay very still.

"I would have ran with you, Katherine." Damon's face relaxes and I see the slightest amount of sadness through his eyes.

"I knew that, I did. But I didn't want to put you in any more danger. I'd not loved anyone in hundreds of years and losing you with hope of finding you again seemed like a much better option than losing you to Klaus. I didn't realize it at the time, but Stefan was a distraction for me and a gift to you. By turning Stefan, I knew you would at least have your brother. I had no idea it would turn you against each other… So I left town and I ran from Klaus, waiting for a time when you and I could be together. That's the beauty of eternity, Damon, I could wait until…" Damon takes Katherine's hand and for the first time in what seems like centuries, I have a bit of hope that he may actually find happiness. "I'm not running anymore, Damon."

It's probably the same effect romantic comedies have on viewers who are in love, but watching Katherine and Damon finding each other, seemingly coming to an agreement, makes me want to hold Elena. Still afraid to move, not wanting to ruin their moment, I settle for stealing a quick glance at her and find her returning my gaze with a beautiful, sweet smile that melts me.

"You two need to get on the road if you're going to make your flight." Damon's voice shocks me. It's friendly and easy. Taking my eyes from Elena, I turn to see that Katherine and Damon are standing very closely, his hand on her face, and they're both looking at Elena and I – ready to be alone.

I nod, then begin to my car, holding Elena's hand as she trails behind me. I'm relieved to be away from them for some reason. Elena and I share another smile and a knowing look as I open the passenger side door for her. Closing it, heading to my side, Damon is walking towards me.

I'm confused – not sure why he's not finishing up, or just getting started, with Katherine. Wondering if he's about to lay into me now that Elena is safely tucked away in my car. I can feel myself cringing away at the thought of another punch to the face.

"You look like shit, Stefan. There is no way security will let you on a plane looking like you just went twelve rounds with Jack Johnson." I laugh when he brings up our favorite boxer from when we were kids – it's been so many years since I've heard that name.

Damon quickly vamps out, bites his wrist. I look at it like I'm going to vomit, remembering how the sight of blood used to make me ache with craving. "Don't be a baby, just drink it."

I'm about to refuse, take my chances with airport security, when I realize this is Damon telling me that he and I are okay. This is Damon's way of fixing the brother that he's pulverized – a way of fixing our relationship that we've both had a hand at destroying over the years. I nod, suppressing a smile.

We're going to be okay – all of us.

ELENA's POV

We aren't even out of the Salvatore driveway before Stefan's face has nearly healed. The large bump that was surely a crack in his nose is gone and there's only a small gash through his eyebrow where it had once been a gaping cut. Pulling onto the highway and putting the Lexus in gear, Stefan takes my hand, gives me this hopeful, full of love smile, then kisses my fingers as he throws into the accelerator and I'm pushed back into my seat from the torque. I laugh, caught off guard by the sudden rush of adrenaline. Stefan looks at me again, his eyes are so playful, I can't keep myself from kissing him.

"You're gonna make me wreck!" He laughs when I finally break our kiss, moving back to my seat.

"If we had time I'd say pull over." I tease as I straighten my seat belt strap over my chest, gather my hair and pull the length over my right shoulder. When I feel the car lurch, Stefan has dropped a gear and is moving to the shoulder of the road, I nearly lose my breath. "Oh my God, Stefan. You are so naughty!" I'm exhilarated by the way he's biting his bottom lip – my body turns to liquid with eager thoughts of him.

Stopped, the car shut off, we're in a vacuum of silence as we look at one another – his mossy green eyes to my brown. I watch as his fiery desire turns to something else and he smiles at me, the roughness of his hand against my neck makes me shiver. "This seems so unreal. Being with you like this…" When his eyes move to my mouth, then my stomach, lingering there for a long moment, I kiss him again. It's a soft kiss that I hope transmits even a fraction of the amount of love I have for him. "Nothing will ever be better than this, Elena. I don't think I can ever be happier."

It's been a rough day, but it's also been quite therapeutic for all involved. It's been years since Stefan and I were able to just be – be happy, be in love, be us – the us that we lost in the midst of everything that went wrong around us. How long has it been since there was no threat, there was no shadow of Damon or Katherine or Klaus, no fear of Stefan falling into his bloodlust?

I have nothing to say because I wholeheartedly agree, nothing could make me any happier – I've wanted this, this easiness, for so long – now that we have it I just want to bask in the light of 'us'. We've made it through a literal hell. Stefan and I are picking things up, starting again, starting a new, the way we should have been able to back before any of this ever started.

Almost simultaneously, my hand moves to my stomach at the exact time as Stefan's. "Do you think Bonnie is right?"  
>I hadn't noticed my missed periods as I was too wrapped up in everything going on around us – Stefan returning, trying to fool Damon, school work – but I'd worked it out in my head during my shower and I haven't had one since before Miami, a littler over three months ago.<p>

That night, in our few hours of shelter before morning when we made love over and over again – that was the night we conceived this tiny little life growing inside of my body. I shake my head yes as my eyes fill with joyful tears and Stefan's fingers wrap around my hand. He laughs, I laugh – we end up both teary eyed and laughing, sharing kisses and holding one another.

We barely got through security and to the gate in time for our flight. The plane is completely full, but Stefan and I are sitting in the very back of first class. He laughed as an answer when I asked how he could afford the tickets and I'm starting to wonder if he has more money than he's let on. We've been leveled out and in the air for close to forty five minutes and Stefan seems to be having trouble keeping his eyes open. I'm stung for a moment by the thought of how he spent last night 'trying' to forget me with Katherine in his hotel room, but remind myself that those things do not matter anymore. Today is a new day, Stefan and I are new, untouched.

Still, he obviously got very little sleep, if any, and my mouth opens before I can think about it."Did Katherine keep you up late?" I don't look at him, keeping my eyes on the new Iphone that he bought in the airport, continuing to enter names and numbers from my phone to his.

Stefan's head is resting lightly on my shoulder and I feel the weight of it change, his neck is tensing as he obviously knows what I'm getting at.

"I kissed her, a lot." His voice makes me stop. It's distant, like he's back in the hotel with her, even though he's speaking quietly into my ear. "I was drunk – she looked like you."

I'm angry, jealous… envious even. "Why are you telling me this?" I know I shouldn't care. I've been with others – Cruz and Damon – but Stefan is mine. The image of Stefan's hands on anyone else, of another girl experiencing the way he sets my skin on fire with his mouth, it's maddening!

"If you want to know, then you deserve to know." Stefan sits up, looks up at me even though I'm doing my best to ignore his gaze. He's waiting to see if I want to hear anymore. I do not. I can not. I remember when I tried to confess about Damon and me in Denver, how Stefan quickly shut me down not wanting to know. I decide that I should do the same, take the high road… but words come out of me again, "That's it? You kissed?"

Stefan in hales deeply, "I took of her shirt, had my hands up her skirt – but I couldn't go through with it."

The sound of my teeth grinding resonates in my ears. "You didn't want to sleep with her?"

When he clears his throat, I know I'm not necessarily going to like his response, he's delaying it. "No, I did. I just couldn't convince myself that she was you." I turn to look at him, I can see he's being honest with me – I'd expect nothing less. It's an oddly sweet thing to hear – that he couldn't make love to her because she wasn't me – but it still angers me. Makes me nosy about what he's been up to during the time we've spent apart…

Stefan and I have experienced some terribly low and dark points in our relationship and never has he purposely lied to me. I decide to use his honesty to help ease some of my points of contention, fill my curiosity. I'm just not as confident as Stefan is, I guess, there are some things that have been eating me alive and I've got to know the truth.

"Did you really move on, with Lindsey, I mean?" I feel like I'm deposing him and I'm not surprised by his even keeled tone and expressionless face. Stefan Salvatore may be a lot of things, but he is not dishonest, nor easily intimidated.

"Are you asking me if I was ever physical with her, or if I had sex with her?" He frowns a bit. I nod once – I'm asking both, I guess. When I see his leg start bouncing up and down on the ball of his foot I feel like I may cry. "I never slept with Lindsey. But I did date her, so." I exhale, relieved – Lindsey was his Cruz - but then he opens his mouth again. "There was someone else, once."

My head spins his direction so quickly, I know I'm gawking at him. Sure, I'd thought that maybe he would have been with another girl, feared it, really. I just didn't think he'd actually do it. I close my mouth when I realize my chin has fallen, leaving my mouth gaping at him. Stefan looks like he's just hurt my feelings, brow furrowed and eyes inspecting me, looking for the damage that he's sure he has caused. Fortunately, he can't see my ego crumble.

I tell myself to get it together, pursing my lips and trying to look natural even though I feel stiff and forced. My eyes are fighting me, wanting to stare at him, but I win the struggle and keep them looking at the phone screen. I don't know how much time passes, but the flight attendant comes by twice so…  
>Finally, I look at him, finding that he's still watching me.<p>

"When?"

Stefan looks around, rubs his face with his hand, considering something. "Are you sure you want to know all of this. I mean, what's the point in ruining your opinion of me? It's over, I didn't cheat on you. We weren't together." When I do not respond, silently waiting for his response, Stefan continues. "It was a few weeks before you came to Naples."

Okay, we weren't together. "Who was she?" I notice that my voice seems softer, not much but enough that I can see he's picked up the difference as well.

"Just a girl in a bar. It was… a disaster." I'm not expecting that adjective. Never, not a single moment of the time I've spent with Stefan could even come close to that description. Many words come to mind – sensual, amazing, delectable, strong, luscious, red-hot, substantial, sometimes even aerobic, but definitely not a disaster. I give a small laugh, and he smiles with what looks like relief.

"You can't just leave it at that, Stefan." I goad. I think I see him blush and now I have to know what happened. The mood between us is suddenly much lighter, again.

"Ugh. Elena." He groans, rolling his head against the head rest, "why are you making me relive this?" Stefan is so adorable when he's embarrassed and frustrated. I elbow him gently, probing him to continue. "I'm such a loser." He laughs, rubbing his face again – that's when I notice that he's got a bit of a five oclock shadow going on – I feel that current between us increase.  
>After taking a long drink from his bottle of water, he peels at the label, his voice very matter of fact, but still playful. "She was the bartender, and I was probably her best customer. I think I was drunk for a few weeks straight. Anyway, she closed the bar one night and I was the last person to leave. I walked her to her car and one thing led to another…" Stefan scrunches his face for a second, pausing to collect his words- obviously not wanting to go into detail of any sort. "So we're back at her apartment and things are going – Elena I can't do this! This is really weird!" He pops his neck, looks at me with a fake expression of irritation.<p>

"Oh geez, Stefan – just tell me" I say through my laugh, he's just adorable!

Sighing, he says, "I was really drunk, Elena."

I raise my eyebrows in a way to say, and…?

"We were… proceeding with the task," His choice of words makes me laugh loudly and I use my hands to cover my mouth – hoping to stifle the sound. "Again, remember that I was smashed, just really bad off. This girl was cute I guess, blonde – French, I think, really pale skin – just a complete opposite and I ah, I" He looks away from me, down at his fingers, "I really missed you." It's suddenly not funny anymore as I feel my heart ache for him. There's a painful look in his eyes, brow furrowed, he bites his lip like he does when he's upset and I want to touch him. "Anyway, I called her your name and it pretty much ended right there."

I'm flooded with memories of trying to sleep, but ending up crying for him. My mind's eye sees Damon's face every time I'd call him Stefan in passing, or how I just couldn't really get into anything physical with him because I would always think of Stefan. "You're not a loser." That's all I've got to say? I can't think of anything – I'm just heartbroken for him. I did that to him, by being with Damon – by being _confused_…

"I think that's pretty much the description of loser, Elena." Stefan tries to laugh it off, but I know this man and he's hurting all over again. He wasn't embarrassed telling me the story; he was reliving the pain he felt.

"Stefan…"

"I'm fine, Elena, just drop it." He takes the phone from my lap, thumbs the screen, trying to be occupied.

I don't want us to be like this, not right now – someday maybe we will discuss that time in our lives when we were ripped apart and ripped into shreds and did what we had to do in order to get by, but not now. "I slept with your pillow." I blurt it out, something I hadn't told anyone. "I stole it from your bedroom before I left Mystic Falls. I also took your shampoo and one of your grey t-shirts." Stefan's eyes cut over to me. "I missed you so badly that I'd dream about you, then when I'd wake up and you weren't there I would cry and cry and call your phone number even though I knew you wouldn't answer. I sent you text messages begging you to come home." Stefan is smiling at me, somewhat shyly. "I only slept with him once after you left, when you sent me that letter, and the entire time I was imagining you. It was like a survival need…"

"Stop." Stefan's voice is barely audible.

I'm terrified that mentioning Damon has just made it worse, threw away any progress I'd made in getting Stefan back the way we were before I started us on this topic. He stands, dropping his phone in his seat, then extends his hand to me. I have no idea what he's planning, where he's going to lead me, but I put my hand in his and stand with him, follow dutifully.

When he closes the door behind us, we barely have any room to move in the tiny bathroom. We're facing one another and Stefan looks… angry? Stern? I can't figure out his expression.

"Turn around." His command ripples through me as I do as he says. I melt when his fingers graze down the bare skin of my arms, finally lacing our hands together at my sides. Those evergreen eyes are looking at me through the mirrors reflection; I'm mesmerized by them and cannot look away. "I don't need to hear about Damon. This, right here," He nods to our image. "This is all I need. I need you, with me." I nod, swallowing hard when I feel his body press against my back. Without breaking our gaze into each others eyes, he turns his head so that his lips graze my ear when he speaks "There is no reason for you to worry. You own me, Elena. I am all yours, do you understand me?" I open my mouth to respond but all I can do is nod again, taking in a shaky breath of air, my chest heaving. ".you." Stefan whispers as he grazes his lips down the curve of my neck, kissing my shoulder. When he feels me shiver from his touch I see him smile and I'm amazed at how he has a hundred different smiles and a million versions of his beautiful gaze – right now, his eyes are burning, intently focused on me, and it liquefies me.  
>Leaving our left hands intertwined, his right hand frees itself and slides across my stomach, rough fingers finding the hem of my shirt and slipping beneath the fabric. My abdominal muscles clench at the sensation of his intimate touch and a silent, breathy moan parts my lips. "I love you." Stefan's mouth finds the most sensitive skin on my neck, just below my ear lobe, and the heat of his tongue leaves me dripping for him. I rest my head back against him, letting his mouth suck and bite and lick with full access. "Everyday," –kiss – "every minute" – kiss – "I crave you"<br>I feel his fingers slip under the waist of my jeans, moving further down my body at an achingly slow pace. I can't tell if it's his words or his touch that is setting me on fire like this. Stefan knows exactly what my body reacts to and torments me with his knowledge. "You are my weakness." He kisses my jaw line and I turn to meet his mouth with my own, my free hand finding the back of his head, my fingers tangled in his hair. It's all bump and grind and slip and glide – he tastes the way sunshine feels, warm and pure. Nothing has ever made me feel the way Stefan makes me feel – like I'm a goddess and a victim at the same time.  
>I'm jerked away from my kissing-induced daze when I feel his hand, no longer holding mine, gently grasp my chin and make me look in the mirror. If it was possible, I would say that Stefan has a literal fire in his eyes – they are smoking and blazing and –my eyes shut when I feel his fingers slide inside of me. He's watching my face in the mirror. Watching my eye lids blinking irregularly – watching my eyebrows knit together – smiling almost maliciously when I moan his name. It's the most erotic and naughty thing he could do to me, watch me like this, and it makes me ache – my muscles are tensing, I can't get enough oxygen – he won't stop, moving quicker, his eyes taking in every bit of the pleasure he's giving me. "Stefan... I.." I don't know what I'm trying to say, <em>I love him, I want him, I'm dying <em>- only that my vocal chords aren't working the way I want them to, moaning his name again, louder now. I'm suddenly incredibly hot, then I'm cold, now hot again, and he is not stopping… When I feel my eyes about to roll back, letting go and giving into him, he turns my head to him and kisses me, swallowing my moans. I try to be quiet, but it's useless.

I nearly collapse against him – I'm boneless after his tantric torture, fully and completely his. Stefan kisses my lips again, softer this time, but it still leaves my lips buzzing. When I open my eyes, he's holding me around the waist, still watching me in the mirror, and he says the only thing that could possibly make that orgasm any better – it's become my most favorite thing to hear – "You own me."

My smile is bright, but I feel completely worn out, wishing I could curl up in his arms and sleep.

The knock on the bathroom door is a pounding slice through our small, secluded, getaway. I'm immediately terrified, burning red with embarrassment. Stefan seems amused, giving me this cute little smile a raise of his eyebrows as he moves past me to the door. "Sir, Ma'am!" The woman's voice is stern. I sit on the toilet lid and cover my face with my hands – I tried to be quiet, but with Stefan, I can't control myself.

Stefan opens the door and I swear this man has missed his calling – his voice sounds light and concerned. "Thank goodness," He says when he sees the two flight attendants waiting outside the restroom. They look like bodyguards in green business suits – arms crossed, brows furrowed. "My wife is a few months pregnant and she's quite ill. Would you mind fetching a glass of water, ginger ale maybe?" It's like the word 'pregnant' is magic – they instantly soften.

Human Stefan Salvatore does not need any vampire tricks like compulsion to instantly sway these women, it probably doesn't hurt that he is so good-looking, either. The taller one in the back peeks over Stefan's shoulder at me – looking through my fingers at them. "Oh no…" The short little red head says, "Jennifer, get a glass of water – with lemon. I'll get a couple packs of crackers." She faces Stefan, a sweet smile for this sweet husband helping his pregnant wife. They take off in separate directions and Stefan turns to me, a victorious smile on his face as he comes to me and squats in front of me, his hands on the sides of my thighs.

"You're so bad, Stefan!" I laugh through a whisper "Why did you do that?" It's not a complaint – it would be quite difficult for me to find anything to whine about what he just did to me. It's really just a question, what led from our prickly conversation about Lindsey, the bartender, and Damon, to that?

He takes my hands from my face, kisses my fingers. Even in my state of humiliation I am in awe of his beautiful eyes, his Roman face smiling at me roguishly. I see him thinking about his response, "It wasn't planned, just wanted to talk to you privately. But when I want you, I want you… I don't have to wait anymore. Consider it payback for that kiss in the car." He teases, "And I'm not bad - _iniquitous_, remember?"

CAROLINE's POV

Elijah doesn't speak when he sees me enter the private jet terminal, simply raises his eyebrows waiting for me to spill the information that I am supposed to have gathered from Elena. I play it off like I don't notice that he's expecting me to say anything. When I walk past him, pulling my green and pink rolling suitcase and my eyes focused on the stairs of the jet waiting for us on the tarmac, I hear him exhale in frustration.

"Caroline?" He calls to me. I stop just short of exiting the terminal door – one foot on the tarmac concrete, the other still on the carpet.

"Yes, Elijah?" I may not be an original, but I am his extremely dominate brothers semi-girlfriend and that gives me a little bit of leverage. I'll have to use it wisely, but I refuse to let them push me around. I can be cool and distant too, you know.

He looks me up and down, sort of like he's trying to figure out what it is that Klaus sees in me, "We have everything we need, I assume?"

I hope my eyes aren't deceiving me when I lie and say, "Of course." Stefan says he's going to help me and I believe him, but I have a terrible feeling about all of this. It only gets worse when I turn to leave Elijah, walking out into the near dark and see Klaus' coffin being carted onto the jet. I break a little inside… missing him.

STEFAN's POV

By the time we landed in Rome I had caught up on the sleep I'd missed, though Elena had a hard time resting on the flight. I rented an SUV and we've been on the road for only about fifteen minutes, heading northwest of Rome towards Montelibritti, and she's already asleep. My arm is falling asleep on the console, as she is hugging my bicep with her head resting near my shoulder, my hand between her thighs – exactly why I opted for an automatic. I love being able to touch her so freely. We don't have to pretend any more – there is nothing left to divide us and it feels phenomenal.

The flight was quite a bit more fun than I had thought it would be when it was Damon and I coming to Italy. Elena asked me a lot of questions over the nine hours we spent in the plane. I was kind of surprised by how much she wanted to know – everything from what my mother was like to if I was part of the 'mile high club'. She even asked what her blood tasted like… all I could compare it to was a semi-sweet, smooth latte and she thought that was hilarious given that she is a coffee feign.  
>All the questions make me wonder when it finally hit her that I've lived 8 times longer than she has.<p>

The one thing that we didn't talk about is the baby.

Trust me, I wanted to talk to her about it, but it seems like something we should discuss somewhere other than in a crowded airplane over the Atlantic Ocean. I figure that's why she hasn't brought it up, but I'm a little concerned that maybe she isn't as happy about it as I am. Again, I've lived… she's only nineteen years old. Elena has big plans for herself, she has it all laid out – finish college, get a job as a writer or journalist of some sort, experience the world and travel a bit, and then children – I can't help but fear that our unexpected jump to the end of her plan may have her a little upset.

Taking in the rolling green hills on each side of the highway, backlit by the falling sun, I decide to not think about that. I mean, what can we do? What's done is done and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure Elena is able to finish college. I'll take her around the world as many times as she wants, whenever she likes, we'll go – the three of us.

Wow.

The thought of having a family takes my breath away. I unknowingly squeeze the inside of Elena's thigh and she stirs a bit, rubbing her face against my arm. She is truly beautiful. I have lived 165 years and never have I loved anyone or anything the way I love her. In 165 years, I've made mistakes and done terrible, horrid things that have haunted me and tore into me, but being with her takes that pain away from me. For the first time I don't live in a constant state of regret - of looking over my shoulder at all the ghosts that follow me – for the first time, I'm looking ahead and Elena is all I see.

Elena wakes when the car slows down, coming to a stop near the small town square. It's an ancient little town, built around a white stucco arch that must be six hundred years old. There are three elderly men sitting on a bench beneath a bay laurel tree eyeing us in our shiny white Land Rover. I look around and notice that it is the only thing in the square that hasn't seen at least a half a century… well, the Land Rover and Elena.

"Here's the picture I took of Bonnie's map." Elena's voice is sleepy, raspier than usual. We're in the middle of trying to track down a witch, in a race with the Original family, and I can't help but feel enticed by her voice. To curb my desire, I take the phone and step out of the SUV – a little distance between us to ease my thoughts.

I'm doing my best map reading when I hear her door shut and she comes around to my side, leaning against me. It's the end of April, but the night is a bit crisp – probably in the sixties – so I wrap my arm around her. "Walking from here?" She asks.

I nod, looking west – it's a long shot, but the best I can figure is it's about a quarter of a mile out of town. I don't want to take the SUV because it's bringing too much attention to us and I have no idea where Elijah and his siblings are. I know I'm not a vampire anymore, but I still feel like I am safer in the night, in the outdoors. "Did you bring a jacket?" Elena is hugging her arms to her body. The sleeveless shirt she is wearing is quite fetching, but is obviously lacking in the warmth department. She shakes her head, so I take off my leather coat and help her slip it on, kissing her hair.

"Stefan?" A tiny voice calls to me and Elena and I turn in unison towards the white arch. Gia is holding a couple of paper bags, frowning at me in confusion. Last she knew, her sister and I were a couple. Traveling across the United States together. But now, here I am in rural Italy, hugging another girl to me and Lindsey is nowhere to be seen.

I suddenly realize how unprepared I am – I mean, what can I say to this little girl who is now even more alone than she once was. Her parents died when she was five and Lindsey and their grandmother had raised her, until their grandmother, Amelia – one of Lexi's best friends, passed last spring. How am I going to tell this tiny little thing that Lindsey was killed by my brother and a group of indestructible vampires are trying to find her.

When I introduce Elena, Gia very sweetly smiles up at her – says she remembers her from the night at The Temples. Gia even goes on to say that she warned Lindsey about Elena and me, because she could tell that Elena loved me by the way she fell apart when I died. I want to take Elena in my arms and hold her, apologize for putting her though such pain, but I settle for taking her hand in mine and holding it against my chest.

"I wanted to tell you that he was going to be okay. But we were worried that our spell did not work. I am sorry." Gia's round muslin brown eyes look up at Elena. _Vecchia anima_ - I knew it before, but filled with such a sad emotion I can see clearly that Gia is an old soul – carrying more wisdom and maturity than she should have been able to accumulate in only ten years. For a moment, I'm reminded of how Lexi truly believed in reincarnation – how she was somewhat disappointed that, as a vampire, she would never experience recreation into another being .

I wonder if she got her wish after Damon staked her…

Elena smiles, speaks to Gia in a voice I'd never heard before, very motherly. "There's nothing to apologize for. I am so thankful for everything you and your sister have done for Stefan."

"Where is Lindsey?" Gia asks, her voice excited and she smiles brightly when she looks at me, waiting for an answer. She's just a child again – innocent.

I swallow, tell my brain that I have to say something. I can't just stare back at this little girl. When I open my mouth to start, I hear one of the old me cough and I'm reminded that we are not alone. "Are you heading home?" I nod to the bags of groceries at Gia's feet. "We can drive you, if you like."

Gia nods and reaches for the bags. I stop her and pick them up. They aren't heavy, but Gia is probably the most petite ten year old girl that I've ever seen. Elena and I share a concerned look, knowing that once we're in the SUV, I'll have to spill – try my best to explain to Gia that her sister, her only family, will not be coming back.

Gia takes off in front of me and Elena keeps up with her. I watch them moving away from me, smile when I think of how this could be something I should get used to. If Elena and I have a daughter, I'll be able to watch Elena playfully interact with her for the rest of my life.

"This is a pretty truck." Gia smiles to Elena, "I bet Signor Ricci and Signor Moretti are very excited to see two pretty trucks in one day!"

I stop in my tracks, ten or fifteen feet away from the SUV where Elena is helping Gia into the backseat. _Two trucks._

Turning in a circle, I take in the town square for a second time – there is nothing here. There are no businesses or shops that would attract much attention from those outside of this little town. There aren't even actual parking spots…

The realization hits me like an anvil - If there was a second truck here today, it's very likely that it was driven by an Original.

"Get in the car Elena." I command, walking much quicker, closing the distance and taking Elena by the arm. I shut the door to Gia's seat and walk Elena around to the passenger side. "Get in." Elena is looking at me like I've lost my mind, but she doesn't resist.

I pray that it's just my imagination, but I suddenly feel like we're being stalked.

CAROLINE's POV

It's just me, Elijah, and the flight staff and for five hours it's been silent. I have my ear buds in listening to Pandora radio and working on a paper for my Intro to Sociology class. Elijah is talking into his phone as he has been, on and off, since we got into the air. Sitting as far away from him as I can be – him near the cabin, me at the rear - I've been secretly watching him from this distance. Elijah is a very dapper gentleman – I can see him fitting in with English royalty and taking a tea with the highest of the Noblemen. Klaus is different. Though they are brothers, Klaus and Elijah seem to have very little in common. I wonder if it's because they've been alive for so very, very long.

Klaus would be able to hang right with Elijah with the royals and the noblemen, but my Klaus is much younger at heart than Elijah is. Klaus is not so tightly wound, restricted. He loves art and music, loves to dance and laugh. I glance at my phone, checking the time, in the back of my mind I'm trying to calculate how much time I have before Stefan gives me the little girls whereabouts – how much longer until I can be with Klaus again.

"Waiting for a call, Ms. Forbes?" I'm taken aback by the closeness of his voice but I manage not to show it. I don't flinch or suck in a quick breath of air. I don't even look up at Elijah, now standing next to the soft leather couch I'm lounging on, moving back to my text book before giving him a passing glance. "You know, I think it is probably time you and I get to know each other." He adds in his coolest voice.

The sound makes me shudder a bit, but I close my text book and look at him squarely in the face – putting my feet on the floor in front of him. "That sounds great, Elijah. After all, Klaus would want us to be friends, right?" I drop Klaus' name as a reminder that if he wants to intimidate me, he needs to consider the wrath of fury Klaus will bring down on him once we've woke him.

"Mmm" Elijah responds as he takes a seat in the matching lounger across from me - he understands the Klaus drop. "You're in school?"

"University of Virginia, I want to be a broadcast journalist!" I smile at him as if I'm competing in some kind of a beauty contest. There's a strange current between us…

"I went to University at Cambridge – the last time – studied architecture." Elijah leans back, seeming to relax but I feel like he's putting on a show, his hands coming together in the lap of his crossed legs. "do you like architecture, Ms. Forbes?"

I laugh nervously, "I guess… I mean, I like buildings and stuff, so sure, why not?"

His eyes glide over me, down to my toes and back to my eyes "Italy has wonder examples of architecture dating all the way back to the beginnings of our race." I wonder if he means humans or vampires… "There is the Coliseum, Pizza, the Vatican… beautiful structures." I nod, growing bored with this conversation. I mean, I'd love to see all of those places, but I don't care to talk about them… especially not with Elijah. "What's missed by many tourists is the rural areas of Italy. They have a lot to offer."

He pauses for a long moment. I feel like he's expecting me to respond with my own observation about old buildings, but I don't know what to say. I'd rather put my earbuds back in and study. "Okay?" I say like a question.

Elijah's cold eyes narrow at me a bit, quickly returning to their emotionless state. He sighs, "Where is the little witch, Caroline? Do you even know?"

I blink a few times too quickly, showing my hand, and he smiles at me like a snake. I try to recover, "Elijah, I love Klaus, but I just cannot trust you. Why would I give you what little bit of leverage I have?" My voice sounds much more confident than I feel.

"Elena told you where to find the little witch?"

"Yes, of course, Elijah." My exasperated voice comes out more forced that frustrated. "I talked with her just before we boarded the jet."

He gives me a slow nod. "Is that right?"

I don't respond, fearing I may have just dug myself a hole. Klaus once told me that the key to a good lie, and alibi, was to not give any traceable details - times, locations, people you may have seen… keep it generic, he said. I have just told Elijah all three of those in one sentence.

"Ok, then since you've just talked with Elena, you already know that she is in Italy. Surely you know that she's in a very small town – one quite famous for their ancient arched town square buildings. I guess I don't need to tell you why she's there, since you just spoke with her…"

I swallow, "I know that, Elijah. She's gone to find the girl. How do you know?" Damn it, my voice is shaking.

"I've been alive for a thousand years, Ms. Forbes, I have witches at my beck and call." Elijah takes a sip of his wine then continues, "Now what may come as a surprise to you is who Elena is with. Would you like me to let you in on a little secret that Kol has uncovered?" Elijah sits up, leans over to me. "Stefan Salvatore." I'm not shocked that Stefan is alive, obviously, but I gasp when I hear the way Elijah hisses his name. "Klaus is just going to love this! He's going to be thrilled when he finds out how you, Caroline Forbes, _Miss Mystic Falls_, redeems his honor. Can't you just see him now? Klaus will be elated, Caroline!" Elijah is trying to sound excited, but I can feel the ice cold tone of his voice as his words slip into my ears. He's doing this to me as a punishment for keeping Stefan's return a secret. "I mean, I would do it, but it will be much more romantic if it's at your hand that Stefan is staked, don't you agree?

~~~~~ MORE TO COME ~~~~~~ FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER IChooseStefan for updates


	8. The Lasting Truth of Change pt6 FINAL

ELENA's POV

He can't talk about it, but something is very wrong. Stefan is driving way too fast for my comfort. I trust him and his driving abilities, but I've been in one too many car accidents to be able to sit in my seat without digging my nails into the leather. Gia seems to think it's kind of fun, being tossed back and forth in the back seat, held back only by her seat belt. Stefan keeps looking in the mirrors - I don't see anything and I can't figure out what has set him off. It's pretty much dark now so if someone was following us we'd be able to see their headlights through the large cloud of dirt road Stefan is leaving behind us.

"Is that the house, G?" He asks, nodding towards the only structure we've seen on this desolate farm road. It's a large, stucco walled house, with accent lights giving the arched windows and doorways a glowing affect. The appearance alone makes me feel comfortable with the house; it just seems so home-like with the perfectly shaped topiaries sporadically placed around its perimeter and manicured landscaping. I can't see much of the land around it because of the night, but I imagine it's surrounded by a vineyard.

"Yes." She responds back, her voice tells of her excitement.

Stefan begins to slow down and I see him bite his lip in the dashboard light – he's not sure about what to do, what to say. I'm his other half, I'll do this – he doesn't always have to be the one to bear the weight. "Gia, do you know about inviting vampires in your house? How they cannot come in if you do not invite them?" She nods that she understands. "Do your friends, the people who own this house, do they know?"

Gia laughs, "Oh yes, they are very aware of the rules!"

I find her tone of voice kind of strange, it's like her words are loaded with something she's not saying. I'm about to try and delve deeper into her response when the SUV turns onto the driveway and Stefan nods to the front door. There are two women standing in the arched frame, somehow it appears they were expecting us.

"That is Milanna and Zola" Gia points to the two women.

"Lindsey's sorority sisters." Stefan says as if he's put a puzzle together in his mind.

They look to be a bit older than me, maybe in their mid-20's. "Are they witches?" I ask no one in particular.

Gia responds, "We are Stregherian. That is a little different than what American's consider witchcraft."

Again, I want to ask her to expand but she exits the SUV as soon as Stefan puts it in park. He looks over at me and I can feel his tension. "She said that there was another new truck in town today… Elijah must know where she is. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to protect her."

I have no answer for him, I can't fix this. As much as I would love to be able to tell him that Gia is going to be okay, I too am feeling doubtful.

"Come on; let's take care of this for now. Once we talk with them about Lindsey's death, then we'll worry about the Original's." I smile confidently, my hand on his neck and finger tips scratching the back of his head. I can feel him relaxing to my touch and it warms my heart.

When I exit the vehicle, I'm immediately soothed by the scent of rosemary in the air. I inhale deeply as the oxygen has a pure and cleansing affect to my senses. I'm looking over the vineyards in the distance when I hear Stefan cough once, then again, it sounds like he's having trouble breathing.  
>"Stefan?" I go to him. He's doubled over, coughing and struggling to inhale, holding onto the front fender with one hand and grasping his throat with the other. "Oh my God, Stefan!"<p>

"Bring him in!" Gia calls to me from the porch where she is standing with the two women, Milanna and Zola, who own the home.

Moving under his arm that is extended to the vehicle's hood, I do my best to help him start to the house. It's only about twenty yards, but Stefan is much bigger than I am and he's gasping for air – his eyes squeezed shut with tears pooling around his lashes – making leading him into the arched doorway even more difficult. I can hear Gia and the two women speaking in Italian. The only words I catch are 'vampiro' and 'Americano'.

I'm huffing and aching by the time I make into through the door with Stefan. We both fall to the tiled floor when my legs give from exhaustion. Sometimes I forget how weak I am… this was an unhappy reminder of my failings.

"Vedere non è un vampire" Gia says to her guardians, her tone is stern, frustrated even, as she kneels next to Stefan who is on his hands and knees. Gently, motherly, Gia uses her thumbs to wipe the wetness from his eyes. "Vervain still affects him." She says to me. I'm breathing too hard to ask her to explain but my eyes must let on to how confused I am. "We have kilometers… um, miles of vervain. This is a, um… farm."

The rosemary scent, the endless rows of plants that I thought were grapevines… this is not a vineyard. Lindsey sent her sister to stay with two witches that live in the middle of miles and miles of vervain fields. I'm extremely impressed with Lindsey, all of a sudden. I could tell that she wasn't dumb, by any means, but she seemed very… immature, I guess – at least that was the impression I got from her in Charlottesville.

"Okay?" Gia asks, her hands still holding Stefan's face. He nods in response, obviously not completely recovered, yet. It's a strange thing to see – my large, tough Stefan kneeling in front of this tiny little girl who suddenly seems to be the strongest and most mature one of us in the room. He looks twice as big in comparison to her, but she has her own way of overshadowing us that has nothing to do with her small frame and modest voice.

I feel Milanna and Zola looking at me, most likely wondering who I am and where Lindsey is – I remember my decision in the SUV, how I was going to take the lead on this one, give Stefan a break from always having to be the messenger of bad news. I stand and straighten my clothing, pushing up the sleeves of Stefan's jacket as they are far too long for me and are covering my hands. "I'm Elena Gilbert." I smile, extending a handshake that they both stare at like it's a basket of snakes.

"Katarina?" I'm not sure if it's Milanna or Zola, but she looks at me with a piercing gaze. I can't help but wonder what Katherine did to her to make her say her name like that. I shake my head no, put my hands in pockets.

"Elena." Gia corrects them, "Katarina is her gemello demone"

I have no idea what she said but picked up that she called Katherine a demon.

Stefan finally stands, introduces himself in Italian. I make note to have him speak to me in Italian at some point – the way his tongue forms the words that his deep, rough voice caresses… wow.  
>They seem to already know about him and I am sure that Lindsey probably spent hours talking about Stefan to her girlfriends. They dated, I remember with a shudder.<p>

My plan to ease Stefan of the weight of being the messenger, of breaking the news of Lindsey's death, falls flat. Gia speaks English very well, just as her sister did, but both Zola and Milanna stick to Italian. I can't really add anything, as I know nothing of their language, so I decide to do what I do best – comfort. It's a language that everyone understands and it's all I can offer Gia when her wheat brown eyes fill with tears. Zola and Milanna are visibly upset, but they stay strong, listening as Stefan explains.  
>I move to my knees and hug Gia to me as she cries. I've been exactly where she's at – completely alone.<p>

I understand a few things he says - Charlottesville, Omni Hotel, vampire, Elijah, Originals, Klaus – he's telling them everything, not putting it off any longer. It feels like it takes him a long time to explain, to warn them, but in reality it couldn't have been more than five minutes.

I am still on my knees when Stefan sighs, placing his hand on the side of Gia's face – he has finished his spill with a word that I knew, Damon. My honest and moral Stefan; he wouldn't leave out who killed her, even though he's scared that it will change their opinion of him. "I am so sorry, G. I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe from them."

Milanna leaves the room, her emotions getting the best of her, while Zola stays with us in the foyer. "You should go." Gia gives him a terribly sad smile as she places her small hand against his face. I'm amazed at how this little girl interacts with Stefan as if he's some kind of a child. "I am not scared of the vampires."

Stefan's brow furrows and I see his mouth begin to open, object to her statement, but Gia cuts him off. "Lindsey wanted you to have a human life so that you could live it. Do not put yourself in danger for me when I can take care of myself."

"Gia, they'll try to kill you." I sigh, smoothing her nearly black hair down her back.

"No they won't." She responds confidently. "They need me. Besides, they should be more scared of me than I think they realize."

Stefan has been quiet ever since we started the drive back to Rome. I'm sure he's upset about rehashing everything; he is so quick to absorb blame. I consider trying to pry his emotions out of him, but I know this man, he's not ready yet. It's small things that tell me that it's not time – the way his lips are pursed so that his mouth is a straight line, the small change of the shadows cast on his face by the blue dashboard lights when he clenches his jaw, even the muscles in his forearm, tight and flexed from holding the steering wheel in a too-tight grip… things that only someone who is well-versed in all things Stefan would notice – the way he breathes, the sentiments in his eyes.

He wasn't happy about Gia's firm stance on not leaving Zola's home. We tried to explain to her that Elijah and his siblings would do anything they could to convince her to wake Klaus, but she shut us up when she explained that short of killing her, there was nothing that they could do – she had no one, no money – The Original's had zero leverage over her. Stefan wanted to bring her back with us, to Mystic Falls, but she would not even entertain the idea. I understood, Italy is her home, it's the one thing that she does have to keep close, to hold constant in her life.

Stefan adjusts in the driver's seat, switching hands on the steering wheel, his free hand resting on my thigh for a moment before lacing his fingers in mine. He hasn't taken his eyes off the road, yet – he's still not ready to talk.

Giving his hand a gentle squeeze, I think about how Zola and Milanna are taking in their best friends orphaned sister – I see Bonnie and Caroline. They would do the same for my child should Stefan and I not live through all of this. The thought grips me like a vice and mindlessly I rub my tummy – send a silent promise to the baby inside of me – _Stefan and I will survive this._

"Where are you?" Stefan's voice is warm and quiet, bringing me back to now. He's leaning on the console, head slightly turned to the side and eyes moving from the road to me, back to the road, me again – they're hauntingly lightless and polished in this darkness.

"I'm here." I sigh, "with you." His lips shine, curve into a smile. "She's going to be fine, Stefan." I'm not just trying to give him hope, I mean it. "There is something about her… she's" I'm going to say _wise _or _an old soul, intuitive._

"Creepy?" He laughs, cutting his colorless, glossy eyes my way again.

"Well, yes. I wasn't going to put it that way!" I playfully swat his arm. "She seems to be much stronger than she looks."

Stefan thinks for a moment, "She reminds me of her grandmother..." His voice is distant. I wonder for a moment if he knew Gia and Lindsey's grandmother the way he knew Lindsey… maybe even the way he knows me, but I shake the thought loose from my brain.

"You couldn't force her to come with us and really, she seems like she's in a pretty safe place." Stefan nods, agreeing with me, remembering the way the vervain fields took him down to the ground instantly.

We're quiet for a moment and I notice a gentle glow of light on the horizon – we're nearly to Rome. Our flight back to the US isn't for another 48 hours, I realize – another mini-vacation getaway with my Stefan in Italy, just like we'd always talked about. My smile takes over my face and I look at him like I haven't seen him in years. He must be able to feel it, the overwhelming joy that I'm bathing in, because he turns to me and gives me an equally as happy smile.

"We should do something crazy!" I offer, suddenly buzzing with energy and enthusiasm. I am in Italy, with the love of my life, carrying our child, and there is not a vampire trying to kill me or take my blood – it's the first time we've ever been on a trip together that didn't involve some kind of back story.

He chuckles, runs his tongue over his teeth. "Like what? You want to get matching tattoos or something?" Sarcastic, I love it. My human Stefan is light-hearted and laid-back. I give him a false look; it's a playful annoyed expression that makes him raise an eyebrow at me. I want to kiss him.

"Let's get dinner!"

"Whoa, Elena… you may be a bit more than I can handle! It's nine o'clock!" Stefan jokes with a gasp, "You're wild side is off the charts!" I erupt in laughter, push my hair behind my ears, gaze at him adoringly. He's right, I'm just not crazy… but I would like some pizza. "That sound is everything I live for." Stefan's hand slips between my thighs. "I can't get enough of your laugh."

From sarcastic to romantic – this is my favorite kind of Stefan Salvatore.

CAROLINE's POV

The moment Elijah's jet landed in Rome and the pilot opened the exit door, I ran. I have nothing on me, my bags, my purse, my phone – Elijah had the flight attendant 'pack' my things for me. Really, he was disabling me, he was expecting me to run or try and contact Elena at the very least. The last thing I heard was that the little girl was in a small town just outside of Rome and that Stefan and Elena were on their way back to the city. Elijah was not happy that Stefan had got to the witch before Kol and Rebekah, but he apparently had a plan… I got nothing more from his phone conversation as he went into the cabin to discuss it.

So I am in Rome. Totally alone in a city full of people… I have to find Stefan and Elena. I have to stay under the radar. The Original's will be looking for them too, and I am sure I'm now number two on their hit list – Caroline Forbes, just below Stefan Salvatore.

I have an idea, though I'm not sure how likely it is to work… it's been so long since I've had to rely on things like technology or plain old hard work. Luckily, I can use compulsion since I have no money and no ID.

ELENA's POV

I'm so thankful to see this pizza that I'm giddy! I feel like I haven't eaten in days! Stefan insisted that we stop at a little boutique that is just outside our hotel, I teased him that he just wanted his jacket back. Before I left Mystic Falls, I googled the typical late April weather for Rome, but it's quite a bit cooler than I packed for. I've now got a really cute black pea coat and a few long sleeved shirts.

In the middle of chewing an insanely large bite of supreme pizza, looking out of the picture window we're seated next to, taking in the sights of Rome when I feel Stefan's eyes on me and blush when I realize how much food is in my mouth. He's wearing that smile of his, the one that tells me that he thinks I'm cute, but I cover my stuffed mouth with my hand. "I'm hungry!" I say through my pursed lips, bugging my eyes at him, wishing he'd stop looking at me for a minute – let me get myself together. He's immensely more attractive than I am and I'm sure my over-filled pizza face is just great.

"No please, have your fill" He laughs, bending his pizza slice in half as he eats it. "Adorable." He says in a sigh, shaking his head a bit, like he's speaking to himself. "We have to remember to make sure you eat, often." I frown for a minute, not sure what he's getting at, then I get it – I need to eat for the baby, our baby. I'm suddenly not hungry, not for pizza. Strange how the thought of carrying Stefan's child makes me want to make love to him. "I read that you should eat a lot of smaller meals in case you happen to have morning sickness."

"When did you read that?" I chuckle, but feel a little insufficient. I should know that, shouldn't I?

Stefan takes a long pull from his bottle of Guinness. "I did some research while you were asleep."

There's a tension in the air between us now, I'm not sure where it's stemming from. "I don't really know anything about being pregnant." I say, inspecting his face, looking for a clue, anything to tip me off.

He sighs, exhaling slowly, his lips in an O shape. My light hearted Stefan is gone for the moment; it's time to talk business. "I'm sorry… about this. I should have thought about using protection." He's sorry? "Having a baby, it's a big step you know. It's going to be a huge change. We'll have to put school on hold for a while, most likely." I'm confused – I thought we were happy about our baby. Why does he keep referring to our baby as IT and THIS? Stefan keeps looking away from me; his shifty eyes are a sign that he's being elusive. "How are you feeling about all of this? I mean, is it something you want?" THIS. IT. SOMETHING I WANT?

For the first time since I've met him, I don't recognize Stefan. Even when he was craving blood and feigning for the high of killing a victim, I knew Stefan. Now here he sits, asking me if I want our child. Who is this guy? I know we had put off talking about our baby but I thought it was because we were distracted with having to speak with Gia. Now I know - Stefan doesn't even want a child with me. When I stand, I see Stefan's eyes widen with surprise, or fear maybe, I'm not sure.

"Where are you going?" He asks, somewhat panicky.

I take my new jacket and the bag of shirts, along with my canvas messenger bag and head for the exit without a single word to him. I hear his chair slide across the floor as he stands to follow me, but he hasn't paid and the waiter is busy – I head out of the swinging glass door and start quickly walking through the crowded sidewalk. I just want to get away from him for a while. I am so angry. I'm heartbroken.

Of course it's a big step, but here I was thinking that we were in love, ready for our life together. I truly believed that Stefan was thrilled with the news that I was pregnant – not once did I second guess it, consider the flip side, that Stefan did not want a baby. I've crossed the street and I'm lost in the crowd, but I hear my name over the bustling noises of the city and patrons. I'm confident that he won't be able to find me, I've got at least a couple of minutes on him and I'm short enough that I'm enveloped in the touristy mob. I can feel my phone buzzing against my hip from inside my messenger bag, but ignore it as I continue walking in the cool air – lost.

The sound of my plastic hotel key unlocking the door to our room is much louder than I'd hoped, but the room is dark so I can't see if he's awake or if he's even here. It's very possible that he's roaming the streets in search of me and my over-emotional reaction. It's been two, maybe three hours, and I'm exhausted from the walk and feeling very silly for the way I acted. I shouldn't have stormed off like I did. However, the time I spent alone was used for a good purpose. I used my IPhone to do my own research – Fact: pregnant women have a lot of mood swings and can be somewhat sensitive and emotional.

The mattress makes a rustling sound and I see his body in the darkness just before he flips on the small bedside lamp. I swallow, breathless – Angry Stefan has that effect on me. Sure, maybe I should be worried about making things right, or worried about the fact that he's angry, but all I can think of is how his eyes are piercing into me. He's dressed, sitting on the side of the bed, but his shirt is unbuttoned and I can see his well-formed torso beckoning to me. Taking off my jacket and sitting my bag down, I cross my arms, hoping to cut down that gravity like frequency that is wrapping itself around me, tugging me towards his lowered eyebrows, flexed neck, and clenching jawline.

"I think I'm going to take a shower." I state, my voice may have shaken a bit, I can't be sure and Stefan doesn't react at all. He's very angry.

Closing the bathroom door behind me, I feel like I was just caught sneaking in and I want to be aggravated by his attitude, his cold-shoulder silence and blistering stare, but I'm not… I'm not aggravated, I'm very turned on. That's what this man does to me – confuses my senses. When I should be angry with him I'm hungry for him. When I should have been scared of him when he was a vampire I wanted nothing more than to love him. Right now, I should be discussing our baby with him, working out this argument – instead I just want him to come in this bathroom and make love to me.

I'm about to remove my bra and panties, step into the shower when I catch my reflection in the mirror and our erotic scene from the flight submerges me in the memory of his hands and his kisses and those dark, never-ending, unforgiving eyes. I purse my lips as they are shaking from the images replaying in my head.

STEFAN's POV

My body is aching with anger and worry and she just walks into the bathroom like it doesn't matter. I know she's upset with me, but it was a misunderstanding and had she stuck around to let me explain, I wouldn't have just spent the last few hours searching for her, terrified that something terrible may have happened to the sole reason for my breathing. Elena should have called or texted me, at least… I was minutes away from calling Bonnie or Caroline to see if they'd heard from her when she unlocked the door.

Taking a couple of deep breathes, I'm relieved that she's back, but that sweet, thick darkness inside of me is just begging to be released. Kicking off my boots and socks, I lay back on the bed, feet on the floor – listening to the shower water and hoping to calm myself before Elena finishes her shower. We need to talk about this, she needs to know that I am overjoyed that we are having a baby and that I was just trying to make sure she was okay. I'm considering what and how I'm going to explain this when I hear the bathroom door open – the water hasn't stopped - and I sit up on my elbows surprised.

Elena is standing in the doorway in a black bra and low sitting black satin panties, head tilted down just the slightest and her vale of dark hair is framing that innocent face of pure beauty. I feel my breath catch in my throat a bit as I trail my eyes down her; she's curved and slender and fit and God she's seductive standing there like that.

ELENA's POV

I swear his gaze is palpable as I think I can actually feel him looking at my face, down my body. Taking in a controlled breath, I remind myself of my plan – a payback for the flight, an apology for this fight – then take my hair in my hands, stretching my body just so as I gather my hair into a low, loose ponytail, a few strands falling around my face. That seemingly innocent move has had the desired effect, I know so when I see Stefan's teeth take hold of his bottom lip – so I proceed now that I'm sure that angry or not, he's game.

I walk to him slowly, moving my hips the way I've seen Katherine do – a rhythmic sway that's slow and suggestive. Stepping between his feet, I break our eye contact and look slowly down his body, reminding myself to keep it slow, not to get too anxious. There is no way to explain the way his torso is cut and formed into a perfect representation of the male body – it's mouthwatering.

When Stefan pushes himself from his elbows into a seated position, he's looking up at me and I lick my lips at the sight of his blazing green eyes and parted lips. He still looks so angry, dangerous – it's turning me into liquid.  
>He's first to break our intense eye contact as I feel his warm, rough hands grab the backs of my thighs and he studies my stomach and hips, kisses just above my panty line. It's exquisite, his warm mouth against my sensitive skin -those deft hands grabbing at the curve of my ass. My fingers slip through his hair, down his neck, to his shoulders then back so his face – I have to keep control here. I back up just a bit and he quickly looks up at me, narrowing his eyes with confusion, or maybe frustration. Either way, I'm pleased with the fact that he looks shocked that I would stop him.<p>

When my hand comes around his neck, taking his face by his chin, he appears to be mildly threatened, intimidated even and it fills me with a goddess like strength. My libido flames by the fact that I have weakened him; my tough and fearless Stefan Salvatore is uneasy about my intentions. I hope that my pleasure is not evident on my face as I feel my eyes light up a bit. Leaning over achingly slow, his hands fall from my hips and I watch his eyes follow my barely open mouth as it inches closer to his. He stretches, trying to kiss me, but I stop just out of reach and look into his eyes – he looks so hungry. When the tip of my tongue grazes his upper lip I hear him groan. I watch his mouth, start to stand, but my face is quickly captured in his hands. Caught off guard, I steal a look into his eyes and for a small moment I'm frightened.

He looks carnal, voracious. My teasing has set him on fire and he's burning. I am not scared; I'm eager, ready to experience what this animalistic Stefan will do to me. When I feel his hold soften, I proceed, standing and pushing him back onto the bed at the same time. I take in the sight of his body once more, he's a Greek God and I'm his harlot. His rippled stomach is screaming for me to touch it and when my fingertips graze across his abs, I can't stop my mouth from making contact with the skin of his chest.

As I start to move down his torso, my hands on each side of his hips and the only contact between us is my kisses and my hair grazing against him, I feel his hand slip against my face, his fingers in my hair. I've never done this, but judging by his deep breathing, I'm doing it right so far. I remember the tips from Caroline – Stefan is much more experienced than I am and it gives me a second thought about attempting this. When my fingers move to unbutton his jeans, I'm reassured by his sudden intake of air. "Jesus, Elena…." He exhales; his voice is thick and rough and gives me confidence.

The low, guttural sounds that he makes, it gives me as much pleasure as I know my mouth is giving him. It's like nothing else, knowing that I can make his breath tremor; his eyes close from overwhelming sensation. I like the way his hand stays in my hair, fisting when I do something he really enjoys. Finishing him like this was the plan, but just when I feel that he's almost there, his fist in my hair pulls me away from him.

I look up at him, wonder if I did something wrong. He runs his tongue over his teeth, licks his lips and takes a couple of breaths. Just as I'm starting to doubt myself again his words save me, "I've got to have you, now."

I smile at him, feeling like a sex goddess as I climb onto the bed and straddle him. He kisses me like I'm his deity, giving him life through the slipping and bumping of our tongues. Stefan's mouth is hungrier, faster than usual, he's anxious for me. I can feel it in the roughness of his hands as they grab at me, leaving my already sensitive skin buzzing. I know what he's going through as it's usually the other way around – it's always been Stefan making love to me. I put my hand on the bed when he tries to roll us over, allowing him to be on top and in control, but this is my apology to him, and I'm not quite finished telling him how sorry I am. I smile mischievously at his burning eyes, but his face stays firm – I'm dripping for him.

I sit back on his body, letting him get a good look at me. I watch his face, how he clenches his jaw as his hands move up my thighs, splaying over my stomach – touching me like he's never felt my figure before. Shaking my hair back off of my shoulders, I reach around to remove my bra.

"Elena. I need you," I slip the lacy black fabric from my shoulders as he finishes his sentence. "You own me, please..." His words break over me –he says the most perfect things at exactly the right time, with that voice so deep and rough. I lean onto him, my bare chest against his and the rough touch of his hands pressing against my back as we kiss.  
>I could die. He's my oxygen, our souls are braided together and there is no living without him. He's my savior, my hero, my never-ending.<br>The taste of his tongue is sweet and pure and I wonder if I'll ever taste anything as clean as our love as he rolls us over, his body weight pressing me into the mattress. As thrilling as it was being the instigator, there is something to be said about letting Stefan Salvatore have his way with you. It's exhilarating, like jumping from the top of a skyscraper you're intensely aware of being alive – he makes you feel everything. Every kiss, each fingertip upon your skin... Stefan Salvatore makes my bones shake and my skin blaze and my heart nearly explode. When he fills me, it's painful and serene, a cadenced destruction to my body only to build me to a tightly wound inevitable combustion that leaves me wrapped up in his arms, crying out his name in a hoarse, barely there voice.

We're vined together – Stefan and I – for eternity.

STEFAN's POV

Waking up next to Elena is life affirming.

Sure, to some that may seem like a dramatic statement, but when you've had to go through the kind of hell that she and I have experienced something otherwise small becomes precious. It's the grazing of her nails against my sternum that wakes me and I can tell from the slow, shallow exhales on my neck that she's just waking up, as well. My lips are drawn to her, turning my head a bit and kissing her forehead.

"Morning." She sighs and I feel her lashes sweeping on my cheek, she's just opening her eyes. We're tangled in each other, her long hair wrapping over us for good measure. I'm not sure what time it is, but I can tell that we're well into the day by the brightness of the room. It must be a nice, sun-shine filled day because though the shades of the two windows are drawn, our hotel room is fully lit.

I'm not sure why, but the idea that Elena and I have just slept the majority of the day away makes me smile and I close my eyes, relishing in the comfort. It's nice. Just laying here with her, holding her, letting her hold me. Gia is going to be fine. Klaus is not going to be woken, Damon is on the road to find some kind of harmony with Katherine, and we have slept peacefully for hours after a pretty wild love making session that ended a silly argument –could things get any better?

"Stefan," Elena's voice is still raspy with sleep, nearly a whisper – it makes me sleepy. "Are you happy?"

Her question opens my eyes. Am I happy? No. I am not happy. That word is not fitting for how I feel. I'm blissful, exultant, elated, thrilled, serene. "I don't think I know the words to express to you just how happy I am."

She stays quiet for a moment, but her hand moves down my torso, taking hold of my hand and resting on my stomach. "About the baby?" Sitting up on her elbow to look in my eyes, I see her trying to read my face – I have nothing to hide and smile at her.

"Elena, I've spent nearly two hundred years alone, now I have you, the love of my life, and we're going to have a child. Are you kidding me, I'm ecstatic!"

Her dark eyes glitter as she absorbs my words, believing me. "But last night-"

I cut her off, my hand leaving hers on my stomach and pushing her hair away from her face. "I was trying to give you a place to vent. You're so young, Elena. I know you have plans and dreams, and yes I know you want to be a mother, I just didn't know if you were happy that you are going to be a mother so early… so young."

She nuzzles her cheek into the palm of my hand. "I am. I am so happy. I just, I love you, Stefan and I can't believe all of this. It seemed like I'd never be happy again, and now here we are, and I'm living the exact life I've dreamt of – since the moment we met, this is all I've wanted." A warm tear pools against the curve of my thumb and forefinger – I wipe at the wetness on her face with my thumb, kiss her lips – I love her. When I kiss her again it's less caring, more passionate and before I can put any thought into it, Elena is on her back and my hands are moving down her body.

"Wait." I'm caught off guard, quickly removing my mouth from her neck and freezing my hands – one in her hair, the other at the curve of her hip. Pulling back to look at her – she's so beautiful all messy hair from sleep and drowsy eyes – I frown, unsure about what's wrong.

She looks at me for a long moment and I can feel that she loves me just the way I love her. "Marry me"

I laugh, shocked I guess, "What?"

"I want to marry you, Stefan. Marry me, today, here in Rome." Elena's hand comes to my face, her fingers graze across my lips. I don't answer, not in words, instead I kiss her mouth – it's slow and soft and it's sensual. Elena turns her head and my lips move down her jaw, kiss below her ear. "Answer me." She's breathless from our kiss – I want her, I love her.

I whisper her answer against her ear, "You own me."

CAROLINE's POV

To:  
>From:<p>

Re: Where are Elena and Stefan staying?

They're at Hotel Trevi. Where are you? I've tried to call you a hundred times! Damon said you've ran off with Elijah to wake Klaus – tell me that's not true, Caroline!

-B

I fold up the printed email and shove it into my pocket. Hotel Trevi – I should have googled that to make sure there wasn't more than one in Rome while I was at that cyber café. I probably should have also found an AT&T store so I could get a new phone, but there were a bunch of creepy guys oogling me, so I emailed Bonnie and stayed just long enough to get her response, print it, and get out of there. Now here I am. I've been sitting in this coffee shop since they opened at nine am watching the lobby entrance to Hotel Trevi and, three hours later, I have not seen Elena, Stefan, or any of the Original's.

Maybe I should just compel the hotel clerk to give me their room number – it's tempting and it would be so easy, but then I'd be taking the chance of leading the Original's to Stefan. I can't take those odds. Taking a sip of my espresso, wishing to God that it was more irony, redder, more blood like, I decide that my best plan of action is to get ahold of Bonnie and have her set up a meeting with Elena, Stefan, and me – I saw a flyer for Antica Birreria Peroni near the Trevi Fountain. Once I get them there I can carry on with my plan. I have to get to them before Elijah and the truth is, it's not a matter of IF Elijah finds them, but when.  
>Just as I stand to head back to that uber creepy internet café a few blocks south, I catch sight of a very cute guy typing on his laptop a couple of tables away from me – Thank God for compulsion and WIFI – I'll just use his laptop to tweet Bonnie! She'll get it on her phone and this way, I can warn them much sooner than if I had to go all the way back to that computer place. I may even use his neck to top off my hunger… he looks yummy.<p>

Elena's POV

"You're beautiful, Elena." Stefan says to me as if it's just nothing, just a passing saying – like it's a fact – and it makes me blush a bit. He's already nearly dressed, but I'm completely naked and inspecting my body in the steamed mirror, skin hot from the shower and from making love to Stefan for the second time this morning. He's so funny – when I got in the shower, reeling with the joy of having asked Stefan to marry me and his perfect answer, he followed me in minutes later. Said he wanted to finish what I had started in Miami. Naughty Stefan is so enjoyable!

Still in disbelief I guess, I run my fingers across my stomach, wonder what's going on in there – where my little Salvatore is growing. I'm not looking at Stefan, but I can feel when he moves closer to me – that gravity between us is stronger than it has ever been. Stefan must know what I'm thinking about and he comes to stand behind me, kisses my damp shoulder and gathers my wet hair in his hands. "If it's a boy, we should name him Grayson."

I smile with the thought of honoring my father in such a way, amazed that Stefan would be so gracious in offering to do something like that for a man who would have despised him – only because he was a vampire, of course. Human Stefan would have been loved by my parents, I am sure of it. Stefan is intelligent, both street smart and educated, he treats me like a Goddess and allows me to move on my own – making decisions and mistakes alike, with full knowledge that he'll be there to help me if I need him. Who wouldn't want that kind of man for their daughter? "Grayson Giuseppe Salvatore?"

"Oh no," He laughs, "I wouldn't want to curse anyone with that kind of a middle name." Pulling on his white v-neck Hollister tee shirt, then moving to put on his boots. It strikes me as odd that I don't feel even a little bit embarrassed about being naked in front of him so casually.

"What about Grayson Stefan Salvatore?" I offer, turning to face him. He gives me a couple of quick kisses.

"Really? Stefan?" He looks like he has a bad thought in his head, the way his nose wrinkles up and eyebrows furrow. "Kind of dated, isn't it?" I roll my eyes – I guess he's right. He is the only Stefan that I've ever known and he's 165 years old. "If it's a girl, though, I'd kind of like to name her after Lexi somehow." He stares into my eyes like he's looking for me to disapprove. "Is that weird?"

"No, not at all" If it weren't for Lexi urging me to sidestep my fear of being with Stefan he and I wouldn't be here today. _When it's real, you can't walk away _- so many times I've heard her say that in my head, pushing me to keep fighting for him, fighting to break through his compulsion, the drama, the pain. I recall the last time we saw her, after Bonnie saved Jeremy's life and some kind of a door from the otherside was left open. Lexi came back to help me, to help save Stefan – "I would love that." His green eyes seem so sad now, thinking of his best friend. I wonder if he's remembering his last interaction with her, too. "It's okay, Stefan." I take his face in my hands, my beautiful dark and deep Stefan. "She knows you weren't yourself in that cell. Lexi loved you, she knew you weren't that guy." He shakes his head, bites his lip like he does when he's upset. "No," I use my thumbs to free his lip from his teeth, "you're not going to do that. We are going to keep having babies until we have a girl and we'll name her –" He's smiling now, it's a magnificent sight – I don't know Lexi's real name and he helps me.

"Alexia"

I continue, "- we'll name our daughter Alexia."

My hair is nearly dry when Stefan comes back into the bathroom carrying my cell phone and a paper cup of coffee. He gives me a quick once over - I am wearing a lacy white BGBC empire dress that I brought for a nice dinner; now it will be my wedding dress - there is a change in his eyes, I know he approves.

Sitting my coffee on the lavatory and wiggling my cell towards me he mouths "Bonnie" as I cannot hear him over my blow dryer.

"Answer it. I'm nearly done" I say loudly, continuing to run my flat brush and dryer down the length of my hair. I want to look perfect for my future husband when we look back at our wedding photos.

The moment I step out of the bathroom I can tell something has changed - My playful Stefan is gone. He's been replaced by business Stefan who is looking out of our third floor hotel window with a brooding forehead and concerned look in his eyes. That oh-so-talented mouth is a straight line on his Roman face.

I feel my chest fall with expectant disappointment "Spill it…" When he turns to me, I'm even more sure that something is wrong and positive that he is going to deny it - I know this man, I've always known him.

"Bonnie, she had a message from Caroline... She wants to meet us for lunch" his tone is flat. I was unaware that Caroline was in Italy and I find it odd that Stefan seems reserved about her request. She is one of our best friends, one of the few people he confides in...

"Caroline?" I have a lot of questions but that is all that comes out of me.

"She's here for Klaus." Stefan shoves his hands in his pockets, hunches his shoulders a bit - there is something he is trying to keep from me.

I am not really shocked that Caroline would want to help wake Klaus, the time she spent with him while helping Stefan lure him to The Temples affected her. She fell in love with Klaus. A grown up kind of love that she had never felt before. Others didn't get it - Bonnie, Damon, Matt - Stefan and I understood. Maybe because we saw them together – it was undeniable that he loved Caroline - or maybe because we share that same kind of eternal connection - either way, we got it. What does upset me is that Stefan said she worked out a deal with Elijah - turning Lindsey over to them, only Damon killed her before Caroline and Elijah could collect her. I feel so angry with Caroline for agreeing to continue with the Originals, coming here to find Gia.

"Why didn't she call one of us directly? Why go through Bonnie?" I ask, fuming.

"She told Bonnie that she left her phone with Elijah. Apparently, Caroline had a change of heart at the last minute and had defected from their plan." he looks quite angry as he speaks, but his body is still calm, taking a seat on the bed and extending his hand to me.

"I'm sure Elijah is thrilled with her 11th hour moral crisis!" I plan on giving her an earful when we see her. "What time are we meeting her?" I ask, taking a seat on his lap and using my finger tips to brush back the short hair above his ear.

He looks at his watch rather than his cell phone - that makes me smile for some reason. "An hour. 3pm"

I sigh; this is interrupting our impromptu wedding day. "Then we get married?"

He smiles so sweetly that I fear I might burst into flames with pride - my future husband is romance novel gorgeous!

"Then we get married!" He kisses the corner of my mouth. "But I have to find something else to wear. It's either this tee shirt or a maroon hoodie if I don't head out and find something better."

"No it's fine!" I try, smoothing the fabric down his firm, well formed chest.

"There is no way anyone would let me marry someone as stunning as you are in that dress." I blush. "if we have any hope at all of finding someone to marry us, I've got to fool them into believing I am worthy of you."

KATHERINE's POV

"That is fine, Katarina." I should probably be okay with how Elijah uses my given name, but to be honest it makes me wish I could to rip his heart out through this phone. He has no right – I am not that person anymore. Katarina Petrova died hundreds of years ago to escape the Mikaelson's, to get away from Klaus. Katherine Pierce took her place and yet I'm still running and deceiving to escape them… but not for much longer. "I had no plans of hurting Elena and will keep my word regarding curbing Klaus' desire to use her blood. Besides, I have my eye on Caroline once I finish off Stefan."

Removing the phone from my ear, I take a breath to steady myself. It's a writhing inside of me, painfully scraping at my nerve endings – I gave Stefan eternal life as a vampire and I will now the behind-the-scenes hand to take his life once and for all. I love him, but I cannot run any longer.  
>Wiping at my eyes, forcing the tears to not fall, I focus on my hearing – Damon is still in the shower, I can hear the water falling from his body.<p>

"Then I'm forgiven?" I need him to say it again. Elijah is a man of his word and hearing him tell me that I'll be forgiven, that Klaus will not come after me, it's nearly priceless… the only life I am not willing to spare for my freedom is the child growing in Elena's body. With Stefan killed, I'll take care of Damon, and Elena and my descendant can live without our evilness in their lives.

"Give me the information and yes, Katarina, you are forgiven."

This may be the first time I've ever had to second guess a decision that would benefit me. My long pause is disrupted only by the sound of the shower water cutting off. I have to decide – now. Am I going to sell out Stefan? Am I going to cross Damon, the man who confessed his love for me only hours earlier? One of the very few people that I have ever let know me, truly know me? The knot in my stomach is growing tighter – I feel somewhat nauseated and my hand moves instinctively to my stomach. I'm immediately reminded of Elena. I have to protect her child from this life.

Swallowing and keeping my voice low, I whisper "Hotel Trevi." I tap 'end call' and drop the phone on Damon's unmade bed as if it is painful for me to hold. I'm still staring at it, fighting with regret when Damon's hand moves down my bare arm, startling me.

"Everything okay?" He asks, those blue eyes trust me again. It's so easy for me to manipulate how Damon puts too much faith in me. In 1864, he allowed me to feed from him, use him to attract victims for my pleasure – he hung on my every word back then, trusting me without a shadow of a doubt. Looking at him now, his piercing blue eyes give him a hauntingly cold stare; I know that Damon of 1864 is still in there, trusting me fully once again.

ELENA's POV

Stefan: That took longer than I thought. Meet me in lobby? 5min?

It's fifteen til three and I am just finishing up with my eyeliner. I don't wear makeup much, but I've applied a light coat of foundation, a bit of blush, and used charcoal gray eyeliner and black mascara since today is a special day. I realized a long time ago that the more makeup I wear, the closer I resemble Katherine, and I usually avoid wearing much more than mascara and lip gloss. Slipping my cell phone into my messenger bag – it doesn't go with my dress at all but I didn't bring anything else – I pull it over my neck, adjust the strap across my chest and pull my hair from beneath it, gathering the length over my shoulder. One last look in the mirror and I'm pleased with my appearance – the square neck of the dress gives it a bit of a formal look, while the mid-thigh length keeps it casual. My hair is straight as I know that's how Stefan prefers it, and I have a strange glow about me… maybe it's that pregnancy glow I've heard about, but I'm pretty sure it's because I am beaming with happiness.

Just about to head out of the hotel, I decide that I want Bonnie to know what's going on – the only thing that could make this day any better would be if Bonnie and Jeremy could be here to experience it with me, but the best I can do is snap a picture of myself in my $85 wedding dress and tweet it to them.

**By the end of the day, I'll be Mrs. Stefan Salvatore! EtchedInInk & BonBonLuv Whatdoya think of the dress?**

I'm not nervous at all, but my thumbs are sort of shaky as I tap out the tweet – I'm so anxious! I'm just hitting 'tweet' when I exit the elevator, slipping the phone back into my messenger bag; my eyes are instantly drawn to Stefan. He's standing twenty feet away holding a bouquet of pink stargazer lilies tied together at the stems with a white satin ribbon. No longer in his tee shirt, he's impeccably handsome in his dark jeans, brown boots, a white button up shirt and grey suit jacket. For a moment, I don't even realize that there are two people standing off to the side of him holding violins – my eyes are stuck on him, unable to break our gaze – that gravitational pull tugging on me. He's smiling somewhat shyly at me, head tilted down and eyes alive with joy – an exact reflection of how I feel – like nothing could be better, the world could not be more right.

When the violinists start, I recognize the song immediately – Unchained Melody, my parents favorite song. It was their first dance at their wedding reception – and I'm suddenly aware of the crowd of people in the lobby. There are fifteen or twenty, hotel employees and guests alike, all of them standing still, watching me watch Stefan.

I feel my skin warm with flush, blushing under everyone's gaze, returning my eyes to Stefan as I walk to him and he meets me in the middle of the distance. I know what's going on, I do, but at the same time I have no idea what he's about to do, or how he pulled all of this together. Looking up at him now, I can see that his eyes are sparkling green, like a spring leaf in full daylight. "What are you doing?" I laugh nervously, my hand coming to my mouth for a moment – then taking the flowers from him, my whole body lightly shaking.

The touch of his fingers against my face leaves my knees weak and by lungs tight. I just want to kiss him, fall into his embrace, but I stay still, my smile so wide that my cheeks are beginning to ache. Stefan takes my hand in his and after a deep breath kisses my fingers. "You are every color my eyes have ever seen, every note my ears have ever heard. I've never seen a sight as beautiful as your smile, nor tasted anything as sweet as your kiss." I blink away tears; his voice is warm and rough, like he's struggling to keep it together. "I've spent my life loving you before even knowing you, searching for you endlessly, day after day; I've belonged to you, Elena, since the moment I was born. And now that I've found you, I'll spend the rest of my life making myself deserving of you and your laugh and your selfless love." I'm blinking away tears but they keep falling. Stefan wipes at them with his thumb, then bites his lip momentarily – I think my heart is truly about to burst when he kneels in front of me, kisses my fingers once more, then takes a ring from his pocket – holding it up to me, his green eyes are innocent and clear, rimmed with unfallen tears. "Please, Elena, be my wife? Let me love you for eternity."

I swear he looks like he's nervous, how can he not be sure of my answer? The violinists come to a soft, quiet stop and the crowd seems to be holding their collective breaths.

I'm so emotional, so overwhelmed with love for Stefan that it takes a moment for my brain to tell my lungs to allow my vocal chords to work. I nod first and Stefan's smile brightens even more. "Yes, yes, Stefan!" I cry and he stands, pulling me into his embrace as the crowd of onlookers clap and whoop and holler in English and Italian and the violinists start a lively, up-tempo version of the wedding march. When he takes my face in his hands, looking at me like he cannot believe I'd say yes, I can't help but kiss him, my future husband, Stefan Salvatore.

CAROLINE's POV

I fight my human urge to go to Elena and Stefan, hug them, jump up and down in excitement for them. Stefan's proposal was beautiful – perfectly Stefan and Elena, low key and romantic, intimate. Getting the street performers from the fountain square was a really great touch, kudos to Stefan for pulling that dreamy scheme out of mid air! Watching him, I wasn't sure what he was up to with the flowers and the clothes, paying the street performers… it was when he bought the ring from one of the street merchants that it hit me – he was proposing to her. Klaus would never have bought me a cheap ring like that one. He would have compelled some jewelry clerk to create a huge, unique, diamond ring then compelled the entire city square to sing to us as he proposed!

I don't even have to sneak out of the hotel lobby, the two of them are surrounded by a crowd of onlookers cheering them on and they're busy kissing and being in love and what not to notice me leave. We are supposed to meet at three a few blocks from here and I'm pretty sure they're going to be a bit late, but I head over to the restaurant anyway, feeling somewhat terrible about all of this. Their engagement doesn't change anything, doesn't change what I have to do at all… it's for the best, I tell myself.

Stupid wedding proposals… stupid engagement rings, stupid violins and stupid people taking pictures and recording on their phones! UGH, I hate feeling jealous! I hate it so badly but I can't fight it. I want that! I want my epic love…

ELENA's POV

I've never seen such a beautiful ring – it glitters in the daylight as I turn my hand, mesmerized. Stefan said it's called a granule ring, made locally by a merchant who fuses these tiny crumbles of white gold, otherwise thrown away, into what looks like hundreds of pieces of glitter forming a perfect circle. We're seated on the patio of Antica Birreria Peroni with a beautiful view of the fountain and our violinists are back at their post, playing lively tunes that make me want to dance.

"Are you sure you like it? I promise to get you something a bit more fancy for a wedding band." Stefan takes my hand, looks at the ring. I have no idea why he would second guess this ring – it is absolutely perfect, it's completely me.

"Don't even think about it!" I playfully jerk my hand away, adjust the ring on my finger. "I love it almost as much as I love you." I tease. He laughs, seemingly reassured, then checks his watch. Caroline is running late. We've been here for half an hour, already ordered even, and she's nowhere in sight. "Want me to call Bonnie? See is she's heard from her?" He nods as he takes a drink of his tea.

When I turn on my phone, I have three missed calls from Bonnie and a text from Jeremy.

Jeremy: Are you kidding me? That's amazing, Elena. Congrats!

It warms me to know that Jeremy is happy for Stefan and I – there was a time that I was a little worried that Jeremy would never forgive Stefan. Bonnie's voicemail is just a lot of laughing and squealing and "you better call me back!", "Send me pictures!", and "OMG"s.  
>"Jeremy and Bonnie are very happy for us!" I smile and Stefan takes my hand, kisses my fingers – he knows how much they mean to me. "Too bad we don't have pictures of the proposal…" I'm a little deflated with the thought. I will never forget that moment, the way I felt, the look in his eyes, but it will be hard to transmit that to my friends.<p>

"Antonio, the desk clerk, he took pictures with his phone." He thought of everything, I can see he's quite proud of himself as he speaks. "When we get back to the hotel I'll have him send them to us."

I look at my future husband – so beautiful in the mid day sun, his olive skin and green eyes inviting me. I lean over and kiss him, slowly and softly. A low groan escapes his lips and I smile against his kiss. "I've got those iniquitous thoughts again, Elena." A playful warning, one that I plan on exploring as soon as we get back to the hotel.

For now, I need to call Bonnie, so I kiss him once more – a to-be-continued kiss – then sit back in my seat. Scrolling through my phone contacts I'm brought back to Miami when I see a number I saved for a surfing lesson… "Where were you going?"I look over at him, he's confused. "In Miami, when you were going to leave me with Caroline and Bonnie. Where were you going to go?"

His smile turns mischievous for a moment as he runs his hand across his face, pops his neck. "I had no idea."

Why am I bringing this up I do not want to argue, I just need to know, I guess. "Then why leave me at all if you had no place to go?"

"Elena…" He laughs, leans over and puts his hand on thigh. "I knew you would come with me." I narrow my eyes at him, skeptical. "Don't get me wrong, I was pissed, but I wanted to be with you, alone. So I grabbed my things and took off knowing full well that you'd follow me and we'd have a nice long nine hour drive back to Mystic Falls." I can see in his eyes that he's not lying, but I'm a little shocked that he manipulated my feelings for him like that. "Not for one minute have I doubted that you loved me, no one else," he side steps using Damon's name, "you just needed a little bit of time to clear your head is all. Nine hours in a car with me!" He smiles and I can't be mad. He's absolutely right. It didn't take nine hours, maybe ten minutes, but the other eight hours and fifty minutes were great.

We gaze at each other for a long moment and I feel his hand move up my leg a bit, sending a tremor through my body as his eyes get that dark, burning look about them. I swallow, cross my legs, I need to focus. "I'm going to call Bonnie, then we're getting married and heading back to the hotel." I smile.

"I'll make an honest woman out of you, yet, Elena Gilbert." He teases, sitting back in his seat and lacing his fingers together, his eyes trailing over my legs. Naughty Stefan makes me quiver.

My fingers are not responding correctly and it takes me a minute to find Bonnie's number. I'm just about to dial it when Stefan stands, looks into the bar.

"I think I see her." I crane my neck to try and spot her, but don't see anyone even close. "I'll go get her. She may not have thought to look for us out here." He kisses my forehead then leaves for the bar.

I consider calling Bonnie anyway, but honestly I'm still finding it hard to believe that Stefan and I are here, hours away from being married, months away from meeting our child. I settle for sipping my glass of water and picking at my salad as I listen to our violinists and enjoy the sunshine on my skin. I can hear his voice in my head _Let me love you for eternity – _I remember saying something like to him when we were in Naples. It amazes me how Stefan truly listens to me, like every word I say is precious, meaningful. I remember when he showed up at my dorm the other morning… that was only a few days ago… the way he repeated nearly everything I'd blurted out to him during my telephone fit the previous night. He loves me. Really loves me.

"Scusi, scusi" The waiter says to me, excuse me in Italian. I look up at him, shielding my eyes from the sun with my left hand – wondering if he notices my sparkly engagement ring. He's carrying two glasses of red wine on a tray. "Un dono dal bar per gli amanti impegnati!" He smiles brightly, but I don't know how to respond as I don't know what he's saying. I return his smile as he places the wine on our table.

I start to correct the waiter, "No, I'm sorry, we did not order-" but I'm cut off by an older woman at the table next to ours.

"It is a gift, for your engagement" She smiles, tapping her ring finger. This stranger looks at me like she could not be happier for me, she's proud of me almost. I smile back at her, nod as a thank you – love is a universal language.

Stefan's hand grazes my shoulder as he comes back to the table, alone. "I missed her…" He sighs, taking his seat and frowning at the wine.

"A gift for our engagement" I laugh, repeating the woman's words in a sing-song like way as if they're a poem. Stefan nods his head and takes one of the glasses.

"You know you can't drink that…" he leans over to me, raising his eyebrows and whispering dramatically. "…pregnant and all."

I take my glass and smell the wine, grimace a bit as it makes me instantly nauseated. "To us?" I laugh, offering a cheers.

"The Salvatore's" He smiles in return as we clink glasses. Stefan takes my chin between his thumb and forefinger and gives me a sweet kiss, looks deep into my eyes – I think he can see my soul – then throws the entire glass of wine back, drinking it in one long swig. He's right, I can't drink mine, so I give it to him and, again, he takes it all down. I giggle at him; he's such an American boy. "Alright," he says, sitting the glass next to the other empty one. Extending his hand to me, his eyes mischievous once again and I'm suddenly concerned about what he has in store for me. "Come on, it's time to make you my wife."

"Buena sera, Signore Salvatore" The priest smiles shaking Stefan's hand, nodding to me.

"Padre Apicella, incontrare Elena. Grazie per incontrarci questa sera. Parli inglese, signore?" There he goes with that Italian tongue again. I swallow, anxious to make love to my husband.

"Yes! English! We can marry in English if you wish, Salvatore!" Padre Apicella laughs, slapping Stefan on the shoulder as we start across the bridge over the Tiber. It's nearly dark, the sky a mix of lavenders and deep blues. I feel numb almost, or maybe I'm feeling everything, I don't know. I can't explain. I know Stefan is holding my hand in his, I can feel the cool breeze brushing my hair against my arms, I can clearly hear the sound of a guitar coming from one of the boats on the river below us. But I can't think straight, I can't see anything but glittering street lamps, mirror like water, and his beautiful Roman face, smilling back at me as we stop at the top of the bridge and he takes my other hand – faces me.

This is it, this is the most defining moment of my life. I am marrying my best friend, the love of my life, the most kind and selfless man that I'll ever know. As the padre speaks, I only sort of hear him, all of my senses are absorbed by Stefan – his lips, his eyes, his smile, the smell of his bodywash, the way we cant stop laughing. Even in this near dark, the street lamps give his green eyes a glow, so warm and welcoming, I want to kiss him now – I don't want to wait! I decide that I can, it's my wedding after all. If I want to kiss him I will, but I'm stopped by the padre addressing him –

"Stefan," He says his name in two accented syllabuls, _Stef-fuhn_, I love it. "repeat to your bride, please." I'm his bride. That's me! Stefan nods to the padre, letting him know he's ready, then looks back at me with wide eyes, wild with excitment as he repeats the Padre's words to me.

I, Stefan Salvatore, take you, Elena Gilbert,  
>as my wife and promise to be faithful to you always,<br>in joy and in pain, in health and in sickness,  
>and to love you and every day honour you, for the rest of my life.<p>

I laugh, I don't know why, but I laugh loudly, tossing my head back even. But it's okay because Stefan is laughing right along with me. We're laughing and crying and holding each other's hands standing over the Tiber River in Rome, Italy, getting married – it's so impossible that it feels miraculous.

Padre apically must think we're two crazy American kids – he has no idea the kind of hell we've been through to get here. He has no clue just how we've earned the right to stand here and laugh with one another. Luckily, he doesn't seem to mind, his face is straight but I can see the amusement in his round eyes as he looks to me, "And now, repeat to your groom."

"You're my groom." I giggle to Stefan in a not-quiet whisper.

The padre clears his throat – I guess we aren't supposed to talk to each other! – then begins my vows,

I, Elena Gilbert, take you, Stefan Salvatore,  
>as my husband and promise to be faithful to you always,<br>in joy and in pain, in health and in sickness,  
>and to love you and every day honour you, for the rest of my life<p>

I repeat them without laughing much at all. Stefan's green eyes are growing increasingly more and more serious, dark and on fire for me, his wife.

Padre says a few more words about being in love and honoring and compromise and the general spill about marriage, but it's all I can do not to kiss Stefan – that magnetic pull, our gravity, the way our souls ache for each other so intensely that it's nearly tangible – the frequency is blazing high and I'm nearly ready to stop fighting it when he finally says – "By laws of Rome, and the grace of the eyes of our Lord, you are now husband and wife."

_We are now husband and wife._

I think we're both in shock. Standing there, finally free to kiss and make our marriage real, we can't move. I'm trying to imprint his face in my mind – God made the most perfect face when he made Stefan.

"Now, go on!" Padre laughs, slapping Stefan on the shoulder with his leather Bible and it breaks the tension, letting us laugh again as Padre takes pictures with my phone.

Stefan slips his hands around my waist, resting on my hips and looks down at me, "I'm going to kiss my wife now." He whispers just as I close my eyes, my hands on his chest, and his lips meet mine – my husband, I his wife – forever.

Stefan gave the Padre a wad of money for coming out so late. Even though he tried to refuse it, Stefan insisted, thanking him over and over for meeting us on short notice. I'm leaning on the bridges stone railing, watching the boats glide across the mirror-like Tiber as Stefan finishes up with the Padre. I'm euphoric. Until Stefan, I didn't realize how dead I was. After my parents passed, everything inside of me shut down and that was the norm… until Stefan. We had our battles to face and our fires to put out, but we've made it through.

"Ready, Mrs. Salvatore?" Stefan's arms wrap around my waist, his warm body pressing up against my back – the contrast in temperatures causing me to shiver in his embrace. I feel him smile against my neck. When I lean back, relaxing in his arms, I'm enveloped in an emotion that I haven't experienced since I was very young – It's soothing, calming… peaceful.

"I love you, Stefan." For some reason, I feel the need to tell him a few things, to really close that chapter of our lives. "I forgive you, for everything that happened when you were compelled." I haven't thought about those things in so long, but I am suddenly aware that I never told him that I'd forgiven him for his coldness, for the night on Wickery Bridge... I know Stefan, he needs to hear it. The gentle squeeze of his arms around me lets me know that I am absolutely right. "I don't want you think about those things ever again, after tonight. They're done. You're not that man any more, okay?"

He kisses my cheek in agreeance and I feel him sigh – relief.

Turning in his arms, facing him now and placing my hands on the curve of shoulders, I can feel his heart beat quicken when we kiss. It's a slow kiss, slipping and gliding together for a long moment before his hands move to the lowest part of my back, pressing me against his body and our kiss deepens, quickens. Someone honks as they drive by, yells "It's Amore'!" at us, but we don't stop – enjoying one another. The feel of his kiss on my jaw, his mouth against my neck, it's amazing. I'm in a pleasure induced trance until I feel Stefan's body jerk in my arms and his fingers dig into my back. He releases this groan, like an animal. When I feel something sharp against my chest, I pull away a bit to look at his face. His emerald green eyes are full of terror as he looks back at me, his body relaxing and the full weight falling against me, pressing me against the cold concrete rail. "Stefan?" I question, I'm so confused. What's happening? Why is Stefan looking at me like this?  
>I can't hold him and he slides down me, I fall to my knees and Stefan lands hard on his back on the pavement, shoving the wooden stake nearly clean through his chest, ripping through the front of his shirt. I look around, there are others watching us, coving their eyes, a couple girls scream at the sight of Stefan impaled and bleeding – that's when I see Kol. He looks me right in the eye, smiling, gives me a quick nod of his head before continuing away from us.<br>"Stefan!" I scream, my shaking hands hover over the bloody stake end sticking through him – I consider pulling it out. His body starts to convulse, jerking and heaving as he struggles to breath. "Stefan, no no please no!" I cry, taking his face in my hands just as he begins to cough violently, blood coming from his lips and nose, spattering through his strangled breaths. He grabs my hand, gripping it tightly – the watery sound of his breathing getting louder and louder as his body begins to relax.  
>My strong, never-scared Stefan looks terrified. I know he cannot live through this – the stake is directly through his heart, may have even punctured a lung – so I do what I can to comfort him through my sobs. I tell him it's okay, that it's not that bad.<br>His fingers begin to relax around my hand.  
>"Help is on the way", I try to smile, smoothing back the hair above his ears with my fingers.<br>"We'll be in and out of the hospital, back to our hotel in no time". I kiss his forehead.  
>His breathes are almost completely oxygen-less as he inhales blood into his lungs – his chest heaving and concaving silently.<br>"I love you, Stefan. I love you. I love you. I love you"  
>He blinks, opening his mouth a bit wider, one last effort to survive, to find air amidst the liquid in his mouth.<br>"I love you. I love you"  
>He is still, eyes open, cold and lifeless.<br>"I love you." 

JEREMY's POV

As terrible as Elena looks when she comes out of the terminal, I can tell that she is happy to see me and Bonnie. I'm glad that I didn't back down and let Damon come pick her up. She is my sister and that's my niece or nephew, too. Elena hugs me, but when she moves to Bonnie it's like she collapses, bawling and shaking in her arms.  
>Bonnie is good at this, much better than me. I feel nervous just being near it, I don't think I could handle being the one Elena turned to right now. She's shushing her like a baby, stroking her hair. I'm filled with rage that Kol and The Originals have destroyed my sister this way. I've never seen her like this, not even when mom and dad died. Things are a lot worse now – she has no one, and she's pregnant. The term widow keeps seeping into my mind even though she and Stefan were barely married more than five minutes before Kol staked him.<br>Damon has vowed to kill Kol, but really, what good will that do? Just lead to another vengeful death. Bonnie may have got through to him when she told him that the next step would be for Rebekah to kill Elena, or the baby – it did seem to knock the air out of him. I can tell you this, Damon may be a first class dick, but he already loves his brother's child, just as I love my sisters. He can be human sometimes, I guess.

It's on the drive back to Mystic Falls that I decide what needs to be done. Looking at Elena, glassy eyed and dazed, she's almost unrecognizable. I know it's what Elena would do if it were the other way around. I know, because she's done it to me.

"How is she?" Damon asks before I can even close the front door. It's still eerie that vampires can hear so well. He's sitting on the leather ottoman in front of a roaring fire, head down, bourbon in hand. I think I hear Katherine walking upstairs.

"Not good. She can't eat, gets really sick." When I step into the den, I'm hit with the smell of alcohol – he's really been putting it back, I guess. "That's why I'm here."

When he looks at me, I'm pretty sure it's the only time I've ever seen Damon look anything less than smug. It's actually kind of scary, seeing him broken like this with bloodshot eyes and an uncombed hair. Damon is very drunk, but I hope he's alert enough to do as I ask… it's going to be a lot of work.

"Go on." He slurs.

"I want you to compel Elena to forget about Stefan. Make her remember the vampires, that they killed Aunt Jenna and that Klaus wants her for her blood. I want her to remember that Stefan was only here for a short time and he helped keep Klaus from hurting her. But then he left. Bonnie has all of Elena's journals, everything that may remind Elena of Stefan… and of you."

His eyes narrow at me, I'm not sure if he's more shocked at the request in general, or that I want her to forget him too. "And my brother's child? Immaculate conception?" He's getting angry. That's good; it's more like unbroken Damon.

"You're going to tell her it's Matt's. That they tried to make it work again, and now she's pregnant." He stands and I back up a step or too.

"No way in hell, Jeremy." He tosses the rest of his drink in the fire, sits the glass on the ottoman. "You're an even bigger idiot than my brother."

I swallow. I knew this was going to be hard, but Elena won't make it like this… "If we don't do something, she's going to have a miscarriage." It's like a light switch in his eyes. It's better for his brother's offspring to live without knowing it's true lineage than to die before ever getting a chance.

BONNIE's POV

I've got everything – her journals from the past two years, her necklace, a letter he wrote her, their cell phones even. Damon will have to take her ring off of her finger… I just can't do that. I saw the pictures of their wedding; it's too real for me to just throw all of this in a fire like Jeremy asked me to. I'll keep it safe, somewhere no one will find it unless I want them to. I realize these things will hold no value to her once Damon compels her, but they mean so much to my best friend now that they mean something to me. The Elena I saw in the pictures from their cell phones, that is the girl I've known for fifteen years… if I never see her again, at least I'll know she existed.

Taping the box shut, I'm startled by Jeremy's hand on my waist. "Come on, he's doing it."

ELENA's POV

Bonnie sits next to me, holds my hand. I know I need to eat. I know I need to sleep. I realize that, but I can't. This intervention is not going to change that. My wedding dress is bloodied and ruined, just like me… there is no going back.

"Elena," Damon sits in front of me. I'm so tired. "Elena, look at me."

Bonnie squeezes my hand and I hear her sniffle. Jeremy and Matt are standing behind Damon, watching me like I might actually crumble into pieces on the floor at any minute. If there were any way that was possible, I would have crumbled into dust right next to Stefan on that bridge.

"Elena."

"What?" I finally look at Damon. He's sitting really closely, when his hands move to my face, I get it, I see what's going on, but it's too late to object – I can actually feel by brain being invaded by his ice blue eyes. It's the first thing I've felt since the police took me back to the hotel in Rome. It's like being held underwater – peacefully drowning in Damon's eyes.

"Elena, you're not going to remember that you loved Stefan or that you had any type of a romantic relationship with him, at all. You're not going to remember that you and I dated. Stefan and I were only here to help rid Mystic Falls of the tomb vampires and to help you with Klaus. Caroline Forbes is a vampire and she is on the Original's side. You will no longer be friends with her. You and Stefan dated a couple of times, but turned out to be friends because Matt Donovan wanted to try a relationship again. It didn't work out, but you found out you're pregnant, so you're willing to give it a one more try. You did not go to Naples over Thanksgiving; you came home and had Thanksgiving with Matt and Jeremy, and Bonnie. You did not see Stefan in Miami; you spent the whole week there and had a great time. You have never been to Rome, ever. Stefan and Damon Salvatore left town right after the Sun and the Moon Ritual when Bonnie used John's life to save you. You will not remember that I was here tonight. You haven't seen me or Stefan since the funeral service for Aunt Jenna and John. You will not remember this conversation."

I'm so hungry. I'm exhausted. Why are Matt, Jeremy, and Bonnie staring at me like this? "Guys? Is everything okay?" I smile.

DAMON's POV

Fuck.

Get it together.

I wipe at my face carelessly, dragging snot across my cheek, then wiping it on my hand. Punch the steering wheel. I can't remember ever crying like this and I feel like a child. Do you know how long it's been since I've wished I could see my Mom? Don't get me wrong, she was a good woman and a great mother, but being a grown man for 170 plus years without your mother makes living without one easier… that is, until you lose your brother and your only friend.

I've lost Stefan before, true. But when he died at the Temple, somewhere in me I felt like there was a chance he could come back. I've seen crazier shit happen – hell, I'm a vampire, enough said. But when Jeremy showed me Elena's white dress, soaked with Stefan's blood, his _human_ blood; there's no coming back from that. I haven't really been without my baby brother since I was six. Six. I'm 171 years old – do the math. It's fucking killing me, breaking me.

And now I've lost Elena. What may be even worse, I've stolen her from Stefan once and for all. I stole all of her memories of him; I took his child away from him… what a shitty bastard I am.

I drink the last of my bottle of bourbon, but I want more, and I want to chase a new bottle of bourbon with a fresh vein. I'll have to settle for a bag of blood. Taking it from a human with me in this kind of condition would end badly… for the human, of course.

Okay. Breathe. Wipe your face, you piece of shit, and get your ass in the house and get that bourbon. I want to numb down to a sack of bones – emotionless, alone.

I stumble out of the car, up the steps. Grabbing ahold of the door knob I feel it coming again, the overwhelming urge to scream, curse, burn the damn house down. I want to cry. And I do. My forehead resting against the front door of my house, crying for my brother, for his wife, my friend, and their child… the last remaining Salvatore who will be raised a Donovan.

That thought alone makes me explode and I rip the door from its hinges, let it drop to the floor, unveiling Katherine on the other side watching me. I can't read her face, never could.

"What?" I ask like it's a curse word, stumbling in just as a crash of thunder rumbles through the summer night. "WHAT?" I yell at her.

She's beautiful and sexy and mean as all hell. I want to love her, and I do, but it's not the same now that I know that she's such an evil bitch. I don't love Elena the way I want to love her, either… I'm just a lonely, son of a bitch, fatherless, family-less piece of shit.

"Come on," She says to me like I'm a stray dog looking for water. I am. I follow her down the stairs and into the basement. I can smell the blood in my deep freezer and feel the blood rushing to my eyes and fangs extending with anticipation. Katherine opens the lid, showcases the blood like a model on some game show. "Eat. You'll feel better."

She's right. I just need to eat. Blood will make me feel much better about taking away my brothers child. Right?  
>Blood will make me not want to find Kol, Elijah, and Rebekah, rip them into pieces and spread their extremities across the globe.<br>Right?

I bite into the plastic, not worrying with the tab, and it does make me feel a bit of numbness as I enjoy the wetness flowing down my throat. I suck it dry pretty quickly. Tossing it on the floor, I bend into the deep freeze for a second bag. When I stand straight again, Katherine is behind me.  
>I think I hear her say sorry, but I can't consider it long – I'm on fire, from the inside out, my nerve ending are burning and cracking and – vervain.<p>

KATHERINE's POV

Actually stabbing him with the vervain needle was the hard part. Now that he's knocked out, the chaining up and wrapping him with vervain soaked ropes is nothing. Don't get me wrong. I love Damon Salvatore, just as I told Elena I did, but I have to protect that baby. I can't allow Damon to one day decide it's been long enough for Stefan to be okay with him moving in on Elena, corrupting that child's life with the parade of destruction that follows the Salvatore Brothers.

One day, maybe in a few decades, once the baby is grown and lost in the crowd of people on Earth, I'll come back here, unchain him, give him a few drops of blood, and Damon and I can be together. I kiss his lips, stroke his hair – kind of wish I could see his eyes so innocent and trusting just once more…

Elijah: And are we finished with the Salvatore's?

I stare at his text message for a long time. I'll never be finished with the Salvatore's, I think to myself with a sad laugh, looking at Damon laying in the dirt at my feet.

Katherine: Done.

**EPILOGUE**

"Whatever you do, Caroline, you better stay away from here. Damon will kill you in a second! When he compelled Elena he said you were on the Original's side… so she won't want to see you either." Bonnie's voice is stern but quiet as she's still at the Gilbert house.  
>I can hear Elena laughing in the background and, honestly, I kind of want to smack her. I realize she's been compelled, but come on, Stefan is dead! I have my doubts that Damon's compulsion is going to stick… the way she loved Stefan, it's going to be hard to kick that.<br>"I know. I… I don't really have anywhere to go." I reply, it's true. Klaus is still comatose, I can't go back to Mystic Falls, all of the Original's consider me a traitor…  
>Bonnie sighs, "You made this bed by getting into Klaus'"<br>I roll my eyes, she has no idea what I have or have not done and it really pisses me off that she considers herself above all of this. I'm about to argue with her when the desk attendant returns to me, waves for me to go with him.  
>"I have to go, Bonnie." When I hang up I kind of know that was most likely the last time I'll ever speak with Bonnie Bennett. My heart breaks a bit as I walk through the metal doors into the ice cold, metal walled- tile floor room.<br>I've never been in a morgue before… it's almost exactly like on CSI.  
>The desk attendant, compelled by yours truly, leads me to the far metal wall, points to a drawer on the third row from the bottom. "Stefan Salvatore, Signora." <p>

STEFAN's POV

When I open my eyes, everything is just as black as when they were closed. I blink a few times trying to focus on something, anything, it's just too black. Absolutely lightless…  
>Elena. Oh my God…<br>I try to sit up, but I'm trapped, I can't move more than a few inches either way. I start flailing, beating on the sides of whatever it is I'm captured in – I scream from the deepest part of my gut, calling out to Elena. I remember everything, kissing her when I felt that piercing through me, all the way through me. Falling and drowning in my own blood. They think I'm dead!  
>I beat on the walls harder and I feel them start to give, encouraging me to beat into them with even more force – my arms, my legs, my head, my fist, my feet and knees, I'm using every part of my body.<p>

Suddenly I feel everything move and I'm instantly dizzy, my stomach in my throat, but I keep kicking and punching. I'm still trapped and surrounded in pitch black, but the casing is gone now.

"Stefan!" I hear a voice, but it's not Elena. "Wait, wait!" It's Caroline.

There is a zipping sound above me and the blackness is slowly peeled away, unveiling rows of florescent lights and Caroline's sunny blond hair. "Stefan, it's me. Stop!" She calls to me, and I do as she asks, stop punching and kicking – I am so confused.

I look around at this room; it's a morgue or funeral home or something. Sitting up, I realize I'm on some kind of metal cart or something; I'm laying in a black plastic sleeping bag – a body bag.

This headache, the way the lights are burning my eyes… the intoxicating smell of iron-rich blood… "Oh my God, Caroline. Please tell me I'm not-" I can't finish my sentence. She's grasping at the back of my head and is shoving an open bag of blood into my mouth. At first, I want to fight her off, but the blood is just so good… it's luscious and laced with some kind of citrus. A couple of gulps in, my eyes rolling back in my head and fangs extending from my gums… I'm not confused.

I am no longer human Stefan Salvatore… I am a vampire.


End file.
